DONALD Trump chief Mike Pompeo said the US will be there “pen in hand” to sign a new free trade deal with the UK after Brexit.
The US secretary of state handed Boris Johnson a massive Brexit boost when he said the Special Relationship is “strong and will become stronger” when Britain leaves the EU.
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After a meeting with Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab in Washington, Pompeo said: “We support the United Kingdom’s sovereign choice, however Brexit ultimately shakes out.
“And we’ll be on the doorstep, pen in hand, ready to sign a new free trade agreement at the earliest possible time.”
Raab met Pompeo during his three-day tour of the Americas – as he visited Canada, the US and Mexico on a Brexit charm offensive.
Both Washington and No10 have spoken of brokering an “ambitious” free trade deal after Brexit – with Raab gushing about the “warmth” and “huge appetite” President Trump had for working with the UK after October 31.
HUAWEI WARNING
However, Pompeo did fire off a warning to Downing Street about allowing Huawei to build Britain’s 5G network.
Theresa May was slammed by critics after she considered letting the Chinese tech giant, long seen as a front for the nation’s government, to construct antennae and other “non-core” infrastructure.
The US has taken a much tougher line on the firm and previously told No10 that giving Huawei any access would have an impact on UK-US intelligence sharing.
We’ll be on the doorstep, pen in hand, ready to sign a new free trade agreement at the earliest possible time.
Mike Pompeo
Speaking last night Pompeo made reference to his warning in his summit with Raab.
He said: “We also talked about the key issue of the sovereign decision about who will build its 5G infrastructure.
“We hope they will put in place criterion for vendors that uphold our shared values. We are very confident they will do so.”
The new PM is yet to make a decision on Huawei but his predecessor was blasted by ministers for her decision to allow the firm to build “none core” parts of a 5g network.
May sacked ex-Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson in May after accusing him of leaking information on her Huawei decision to the National Security Council, where top ministers meet with MI5 and MI6 bosses.
Williamson denied the claim and told The Sun: “I did not leak this, and to my dying day I will keep on insisting that.”
Williamson has since been made Education Secretary by Johnson.
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