The British cabinet has backed a draft withdrawal agreement of Brexit between the United Kingdom and the European Union.

After a meeting that lasted more than five hours in London, Prime Minister Theresa May said it is a decisive step in the progress of Brexit and would allow the agreement to be finalized.

The announcement of the deal prompted a wave of criticism from eurosceptics in May's Conservative party, as well as her Northern Irish allies, the Democratic Unionist Party.

Meanwhile, the EU's chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier says decisive progress has been made in reaching a final agreement on the UK's departure from the bloc. (AFP/APP/BBC)