Sir Keir Starmer is locked in a £1bn standoff with the EU over university tuition fees as he tries to get his much-vaunted Brexit reset deal agreed in time for Monday’s crucial summit.
The prime minister’s optimism that he is on the cusp of landing a “superb deal” with the EU was dealt a blow with just days to go after EU member states raised a series of objections to the European Commission’s draft communique.