British and EU negotiators launched a desperate final stretch of trade talks on Sunday, with both sides determined not to give ground, despite the looming threat of failure.
Britain's David Frost returned to meet his EU counterpart Michel Barnier after a shake-up in Number 10 personnel left some wondering if the London might soften its stance.
But there was no sign of that in the message that Prime Minister Boris Johnson's envoy tweeted as he headed back to Brussels.
"We are working to get a deal, but the only one that's possible is one that is compatible with our sovereignty and takes back control of our laws, our trade, and our waters," Frost said.
"That has been our consistent position from the start and I will not be changing it."
On Friday, Johnson's senior aide Dominic Cummings -- one of the architects of the "leave" victory in the 2016 Brexit referendum -- was sacked, amid faction fighting in Number 10, but there has been no sign this will change the direction of trade talks.
Britain left the European Union in January, but the full economic effect of the bitter divorce will be felt at the end of the year when an 11-month transition period closes.
Relations between Britain and Europe could then be governed by a trade deal, but only if negotiations currently under way deliver, which is hardly guaranteed given still wide divergences.
Frost said the parties now "largely have common draft treaty texts, though significant elements are of course not yet agreed. We will work to build on these and get an overall agreement if we can.
"But we may not succeed," he warned.
Officials on both sides of the Channel are looking to an EU leaders video summit on Thursday as the de facto last chance for a breakthrough, leaving just enough time for the EU Parliament to ratify an agreement.
This gives Barnier and Frost four days and nights to bridge differences that have remained unchanged since March.
