British and European negotiators ploughed on with Brexit talks yesterday hoping that a deal can be found in time for this week’s European summit.

Brexit minister Steve Barclay described the closed-door meeting as “intensive” but confirmed Britain would ask for another Brexit extension if there was no deal by Saturday.

And Irish leader Leo Varadkar warned that “many issues remained to be resolved” and suggested that a more realistic target was “an agreement by the end of this month.”

Briefing European commissioners, their chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier said “ongoing talks have been constructive but there still remains a number of significant issues to resolve.”

Earlier, Barnier had said a draft of any deal would have to be ready by early Wednesday if it was to go before European leaders at their summit, which begins on Thursday.

European officials close to the negotiations express cautious optimism but doubts over the idea that a detailed draft can be done in time, despite positive rumours driving the pound higher on currency markets.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has promised to take the UK out of the European Union on October 31, with or without a follow-on agreement to maintain orderly economic ties with its former partners.

A British government audit, published Wednesday, added weight to fears of a catastrophic economic breakdown in the event of a “no deal” exit, forecasting a 45- to 65-percent cut in cross-Channel trade for up to a year.