The French President imposed a September 30 deadline on any “written proposals” put forward if the Prime Minister’s deal is to stand a chance of being accepted by the European Union. He revealed his hardline demands to Finnish prime minister Antti Rinne during a meeting in Paris earlier. Mr Rinne, who holds the EU’s six-month rotating presidency, promised his colleague that he would ask Donald Tusk, the European Council’s president, to pass on the message to the British.

Mr Rinne said: “We need to know what the UK is proposing.

“Loose talk about proposals for negotiations is irresponsible.”

Mr Macron emerged from discussions after meeting Xavier Bettel, the Luxembourg leader who attempted humiliate Mr Johnson on Monday.


The Brexit Party leader said: “I would suggest that events we have seen across Europe this week do not indicate that good faith exists.

“I am, of course, referring to the pipsqueak PM of Luxembourg who set out to ritually humiliate a British PM in the most astonishing way, only to be greeted like a hero by President Macron at the Elysée Palace yesterday.”

During a three-hour European Parliament debate in Strasbourg, Mr Farage expressed fears that Mr Johnson was on the verge of signing a Brexit deal with Brussels.

He said: “One thing is clear and that is from the emollient tone we’ve heard this morning from Juncker and Barnier, we are actually very close to a deal on the backstop being agreed at the summit on the 17 October, and of course, both sides will try and present this as a negotiating victory.