Talks concerning the Northern Ireland Protocol are in the end stages, according to reports this morning

One of the sources said a legal text was now being looked at.Following a video call between European Commission Vice-President Maroš Šefčovič, Foreign Secretary James Cleverly and Northern Ireland Secretary Chris Heaton-Harris, Mr Šefčovič said the talks had been "hard work" but that it was "time well invested".The BBC said that one source repeated claims that a framework deal has been on Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's desk for some time but that he was waiting for the right moment to move forward.There is still work to make sure the deal is "sellable" to the EU, DUP and Tory MPs.It's believed red and green lanes have been settled as a method of reducing checks on goods going from Britain to Northern Ireland.The BBC said there had been no suggestion that negotiators were rewriting the original treaty - rather, it appears they are seeking to add to or clarify it.If the text was not being significantly rewritten, said the BBC, it was possible that any deal could just be ratified through the protocol's Joint Committee rather than requiring votes in London and Brussels.