"Sufficient progress" has been made in the first phase of Brexit talks, the European Commission is recommending to the European Council.

Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker made the announcement at a joint press conference with Theresa May early on Friday morning.

The prime minister and Brexit minister David Davis arrived in Brussels to meet with Mr Juncker and the European Union's chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier shortly before 6am GMT.

The meeting followed a flurry of diplomacy by Mrs May late on Thursday that fuelled speculation that an agreement on plans to maintain a soft Irish border was edging closer.

A press conference is taking place following the meeting:

In an apparent sign that a deal has been done, Mr Juncker's head of cabinet Martin Selmayr tweeted a photograph of white smoke gushing from the chimney of the Sistine Chapel - the traditional way of signalling that a new Pope has been chosen.