Is Theresa May risking a Hotel California Brexit?
Sky's Sophy Ridge says she was keen to push a famously private prime minister on how this week has felt.
Sunday 18 November 2018 14:35, UK
The last week in Westminster has been one of the most dramatic I can remember.
The long-awaited draft Brexit agreement was finally published, sparking ministerial resignations, including that of the Brexit secretary, and a parade of MPs brandishing letters of no confidence in the prime minister.
Meanwhile, the clock is ticking ahead of a crucial EU summit where the agreement could be signed off.
In critical times like these, securing the best guests for my Sunday morning political show can be a last minute exercise, because politicians want to wait and see how events unfold.
After spending a week having discussions and meetings with politicians and their advisers in Westminster, trying to work out where the story would fall by Sunday and secure the best people to talk about it, I finally got the calls confirming the guests.
Prime Minister Theresa May and the leader of the opposition, Jeremy Corbyn, would both appear live in the studio - the first time they have been on the same programme since the general election.
Saturday was spent with the team from the show, working out the best line of questioning.
At such a critical moment in politics - when the draft Brexit agreement hangs in the balance and the PM's future is being openly questioned - you feel an even greater responsibility than usual to get the questions right.
There is much in the 585-page withdrawal agreement to pour over - but you have to be selective.
We chose to focus on the fact that there is no unilateral way for the UK to exit the Northern Ireland backstop (something former Brexit secretary Dominic Raab mentioned in his resignation letter.)
Was this, we wondered, the political equivalent of Hotel California, in which the Eagles sing: "You can check out any time you like, but you can never leave."
Mrs May replied that the backstop "can only ever be temporary under the legal arrangements of the European Union", adding: "They cannot enter into a permanent relationship on the basis of this withdrawal agreement."
The prime minister was clearly keen to focus on the UK's future relationship with the EU - a slim seven-page declaration - and revealed she would be visiting Brussels to meet European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker in the coming days.
She also told us she does not believe that 48 letters of no confidence have been submitted by MPs - the point at which she would face a confidence vote.
Away from the intricacies of the deal, I was keen to push a famously private prime minister on how this week has felt.
Under fire from all sides, her leadership under question, her deal under pressure, she told me she had never thought about giving up.
There is no sign of the pressure lifting just yet, though.
The prime minister has seven days before that crucial Brussels summit - and we'll be broadcasting Sophy Ridge on Sunday live from there next weekend.