'Lay your cards on the table': Tusk tells May says time is running out for a Brexit deal by October deadline after crunch summit ends with a warning there are still 'huge and serious' gaps on Ireland and Gibraltar

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Donald Tusk demanded Theresa May finally 'lay her cards on the table' today with a warning time is running out for a Brexit deal by the October deadline.

The EU Council President closed the final summit before an agreement is due to be done warning the 'most difficult issues still need to be resolved'.

The 27 EU leaders spent just five minutes of a two day summit on Brexit after the Prime Minister brought no new proposals to Brussels with her.

Mrs May's Cabinet is not due to decide on its Brexit demands until the end of next week - despite all sides publicly saying a deal must be in place at October's summit to ensure there is time to implement it before Brexit day on March 29, 2019.

As the summit concluded today, EU negotiator Michel Barnier said there were 'huge and serious' gaps between the two sides, particularly on the Irish border.

He offered emergency talks as soon as Monday in a bid to end the deadlock.  

EU leaders also highlighted the fate of Gibraltar continues to hang in the balance, with no deal finalised on its status after Brexit.

Mrs May left the summit at 5am following an all-night debate on migration. She is not invited to Brexit discussions between other EU leaders.

Donald Tusk demanded Theresa May finally 'lay her cards on the table' today with a warning time is running out for a Brexit deal by the October deadline

Prime Minister Theresa May (pictured leaving the summit at 5am) warned the bloc they risk having blood on their hands if they carry out their threat to lock Britain out of intelligence sharing databases after Brexit 

Michel Barnier (pictured today at the summit)  warned Theresa May that time is 'short' and she must hurry up and publish 'workable and realistic' Brexit proposals to get the deal done.

At his press conference, Mr Tusk warned her: 'The EU27 has taken note of what has been achieved so far. 

'There is a great deal of work ahead and the most difficult issues are still to be resolved.

'If we want a deal in October we need quick progress: This is the last call to lay the cards on the table.'     

Speaking as he arrived back at the summit it Brussels this morning, Mr Barnier blamed Britain for the lack of progress in talks saying they are waiting for a long-delayed UK white paper on the future relationship.

He said: 'On Brexit, we have made progress but huge and serious divergence remain in particular on Ireland and Northern Ireland.'

He added: 'We are waiting for the UK white paper and I hope it will contain workable and realistic proposal.

'But let me mention once again that time is very short. We want a deal and are working for a deal, but time is short.'

EU Council President Donald Tusk revealed EU leaders had agreed their latest conclusions on Brexit.

The document was agreed in minutes as EU leaders returned to their talks - compared to a marathon 10 hour spent on migration policy over night. 

It stated: 'The European Council expresses its concern that no substantial progress has yet been achieved on agreeing a backstop solution for Ireland/Northern Ireland.

'It recalls the commitments undertaken by the UK in this respect in December 2017 and March 2018, and insists on the need for intensified efforts so that the Withdrawal Agreement, including its provisions on transition, can be concluded as soon as possible in order to come into effect on the date of withdrawal.

Mrs May (pictured with her EU ambassador Sir Tim Barrow today) and the Cabinet are due to try and finalise Britain's demands for the Brexit talks at an away day in Chequers, the PM's country retreat, next week

'It recalls that negotiations can only progress as long as all commitments undertaken so far are respected in full.' 

As he arrived today, Mr Barnier said the EU wants an 'ambitious partnership' withe Britain after Brexit - but repeated his warning that Brussels will not bend its rules on free movement to get one.

The PM last night urged EU leaders to abandon their plans to treat Britain as a 'third party' and instead keep the close ties needed to take on the terror threat facing Europe. 

The member states had been expected to thrash out their views over croissants at a Brexit breakfast, but this has been pushed back to a 'Brexit brunch' after stormy talks on the migration crisis ran late into the night. 

Speaking to the press as she left the summit, the PM said she had been 'stressing that we want a deal that's going to work for the UK and for our European partners, and that if we work together, we can support each other's prosperity and security'. 

She had earlier warned the leaders not to gamble with their security and pull the plug on intelligence sharing.

In a direct appeal last night, she told them: 'I would ask you to consider what is in the best interests of the safety of your citizens and mine and give your negotiators a mandate which will allow us to achieve this crucial objective.'

The PM said the UK was committed to the future security of Europe and wanted to maintain the maximum co-operation. But she added: 'Our ability to do so is being put at risk. 

'The existing legal frameworks for third countries will not allow us to realise the ambitious future security partnership that I believe is in all our interests. 

'Under the current position, the UK and EU would no longer be able to share information through key databases that allow our law enforcement to protect all European citizens.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron appeared in good spirits as they arrived at the Brexit talks today 

The two leaders are crucial power brokers in the negotiations, which have been stalled for months 

'We would no longer be able to share real-time alerts for wanted persons including serious criminals. We would be able to respond less swiftly to alerts for missing people from either side of the Channel and reunite them with their loved ones.

'And our collective ability to map terrorist networks across Europe and bring those responsible to justice would be reduced.'

The PM is under mounting pressure to finally spell out exactly what she wants Britain's future trade deal with the Brussels bloc to look like.

She is gathering her warring Cabinet at her country retreat Chequers for an away day next week where she aims to finally thrash out a plan.

And today it was reported that she will give another flagship speech - the final in a series of four which kicked off at Lancaster House - detailing her blueprint for a future deal. 

Merkel stays up all-night to clinch EU migration deal to save her political career

A bleary-eyed Angela Merkel is pictured leaving the EU meeting this morning after late night crunch talks

A bleary-eyed Angela Merkel stayed up all night to save her job - by clinching an EU migration deal after marathon talks at a summit in Brussels.

The German Chancellor had been given an ultimatum from her hardline coalition partners to find a Europe-wide solution to the migrant crisis.

Merkel's political allies, Bavaria's Christian Social Union (CSU), had called for borders to be closed to asylum seekers in a row that threatened to split the three-month-old union.

But the German leader emerged after nine hours of 'toxic' negotiations in Brussels overnight to reveal a 'joint text' which included moves to stop migrants registered in Italy and other EU countries from moving on to Germany.

There were also pledges to strengthen external borders and explore new migrant centres in north Africa.  

Italy's Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte had threatened to veto a joint conclusion for the entire agenda of the summit in Brussels until his demands were finally met before dawn. 

It comes after many days of open warfare between her ministers as their Brexit splits erupted into the open. 

Business Secretary Greg Clark and Chancellor Philip Hammond - leading Remainers - have warned that dire business warnings must be heeded and close ties kept with the bloc. 

But Brexiteers have warned that they are colluding a 'Project Fear Mark 2' and are calling for more self confidence from Britain in the talks. 

Today Culture Secretary Matt Hancock said the Tories must be a party of business - while delivering on the democratic Brexit vote. 

He told the BBC Radio 4 Today Programme: 'I do think it's important that business is listened to. 

'The Conservative Party is the party of business and prosperity or we are nothing.

'On the other hand, we have got to make sure that we deliver on the vote.'

Leaders from the bloc queued up to pile pressure on Mrs May and demand she hurries up and publishes her Brexit plans.  

European Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker pointed to Mrs May's 'split Cabinet', and said the EU would have to step up preparations for no deal. 

Dutch prime minister Mark Rutte suggested it was not clear who was in charge in the UK following recent battles in parliament and the Cabinet.

And Irish Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said the UK had to accept it would be a junior partner after Brexit.

Asked if a Brexit deal was at risk, Mr Rutte said: 'I don't want to talk in apocalyptic terms, but what I want to say is I believe the first, second and third priority now is to solve this issue of the Irish border.'

Mr Varadkar said: 'Any relationship in the future between the EU and UK isn't going to be one of absolute equals. 

'We're 27 member states, the EU is one country, we're 500million people, the UK is 60million. That basic fact needs to be realised and understood.'

Brexiteer Iain Duncan Smith said Mrs May should walk out if other EU countries 'bully Britain'. 

Irish Taoiseach Leo Varadkar (pictured with Theresa May at the summit yesterday) said the UK had to accept it would be a junior partner after Brexit