Time is running out for Theresa May to rescue the Brexit negotiations after the DUP - the party she bribed with £1billion to prop up her toothless Tory government - vetoed the proposed deal.

The Prime Minister was forced to withdraw from final-round talks today after DUP leader Arlene Foster's refusal to back a proposed solution to the Irish border question which would have effectively separated Northern Ireland from the rest of the United Kingdom.

Hopes that agreement could be reached with European Union chiefs so allowing trade talks to begin were scuppered by the dramatic last-minute intervention meaning a new fix must now be found to avoid the disastrous scenario of having no deal on Brexit at the European Council summit in Brussels next week.

Here's everything you need to know about what happens next... (as first published by Mirror Online )

How close are the UK and EU to a deal?

European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, right, walks behind British Prime Minister Theresa May prior to addressing a media conference at EU headquarters in Brussels on Monday, Dec. 4, 2017. British Prime Minister Theresa May and EU Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker held a power lunch on Monday, seeking a breakthrough in the Brexit negotiations ahead of a key EU summit the week after. (AP Photo/Virginia Mayo)

Still a lot to be done. The EU has said negotiations cannot move to trade talks until sufficient progress has been made on the Brexit divorce bill, the rights of EU citizens living the UK and the Irish border question.

Theresa May last week agreed a divorce settlement of around £50billion and is close to an agreement on citizens’ rights.

The Irish issue is proving harder to solve. The Government is said to have agreed there will be continued “regulatory alignment” between the Irish Republic and Northern Ireland.

This would mean, in effect, that Northern Ireland would abide by EU trade and customs rules after Brexit.

But talks between Mrs May and EU president Jean-Claude Juncker failed to end the deadlock yesterday.

Why did the talks fail?

Theresa May is understood to have interrupted talks with European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker for a phone call with DUP leader Arlene Foster

The Prime Minister’s offer on Northern Ireland was too much for the DUP to stomach. A deal with the EU was sunk after Mrs May spoke on the phone to DUP chief Arlene Foster.

Ms Foster said her party would not accept any deal that separates Northern Ireland economically or politically from the rest of the UK.

It forced Mrs May to withdraw her offer pending further negotiations.

Ireland’s Taoiseach Leo Varadkar was “surprised and disappointed”.

Without DUP support Mrs May could struggle to get any legislation through the Commons, increasing the likelihood of an early general election.

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What does Mrs May do now?

Prime Minister Theresa May leaves 10, Downing Street

The Prime Minister could walk away without a deal but that would be economically ruinous. Another option is to press ahead with the plans for regulatory alignment in Ireland, but this would smash the DUP pact that gives her a majority in Parliament.

The only solution is to find a fudge acceptable to Dublin and the DUP.

But time is running out. The PM knows that if trade talks are delayed until March several major firms will carry out their threat to move their business out of the UK.

What other problems does Mrs May face?

Prime Minister Theresa May (left) meets with Nicola Sturgeon at Bute House in Edinburgh. The First Minister said a new independence referendum should be held between autumn 2018 and spring 2019.

The Scottish Nationalists are asking why Scotland couldn’t also get special exemption from Brexit.

London Mayor Sadiq Khan said a similar deal in the capital would save thousands of jobs. Mrs May also faces a backlash from Tory Brexiteers.

She has now caved in on the divorce bill, transition period and access to the European Court of Justice for EU citizens in the UK.

What happens next?

Mrs May is still hopeful that EU leaders will agree to move to trade negotiations at next week’s summit in Brussels.

This is when the real negotiations will start.

Britain wants a free trade agreement with Brussels without having to pay substantial amounts for the privilege and on similar terms to the deal we have now.

The EU has said this is not possible and Britain cannot trade on the same terms as existing members.

Ireland offers a template for the way forward. Mrs May could agree to continued “regulatory alignment” for the whole of the UK after Brexit.

The problem with this is that it means we are accepting EU rules without any voice at the table where they are drawn up – hardly taking back control.

It also lessens our ability to strike competitive trade deals, which was one of the Brexiteers’ main arguments for leaving.