US President Donald Trump said Britain’s execution of Brexit was ‘sloppy’ – but praised Keir Starmer for getting it ‘straightened out’, days after Emmanuel Macron said UK voters were ‘sold a lie’
Donald Trump has said the UK’s execution of Brexit has been “sloppy” – but praised Keir Starmer for getting it “straightened out”.
He made the remark days after French President Emmanuel Macron blamed the small boats crisis on Britain leaving the EU. Mr Starmer has been focusing on a “reset” with Europe – striking a migrant returns deal with France and a trade agreement to cut red tape.
Asked whether Britain had made the most of Brexit, the US President said: “No, I think it has been on the sloppy side, but it is getting straightened out.” He went on to praise the PM, saying: “I really like the Prime Minister a lot, even though he’s a liberal.”
Mr Trump went on to say that the UK “did a good trade deal with us, which a lot of countries have not been able to do”. The comments come a day after it emerged the PM would meet the President when he comes to Scotland for a golfing holiday later this month.
The two are due to catch up, but because it is a private visit there are not expected to be any officials present and no record is likely to be kept. In September he will return for a state visit – but because Parliament will not be sitting he is not expected to address MPs and peers.
Mr Trump described the UK as a “great place – you know I own property there”. Asked by the BBC what he hopes to achieve on his state visit, the US President said: “Have a good time and respect King Charles, because he’s a great gentleman.”
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The President’s comments about Brexit come just days after Mr Macron said voters were “sold a lie” and warned that leaving the EU had hampered the UK’s ability to tackle illegal migration. After pointing out that Britain now has ““no migratory deal” with the EU after Brexit, Mr Macron said: “It creates an incentive to make the crossing, the precise opposite of what Brexit had promised.”
Since coming to office Mr Starmer has worked closley with European leaders on trade, and is seeking more access to crime and fingerprint databases which were lost after Boris Johnson’s botched Brexit deal.
In November the PM told the Mirror: “I do think when it comes to security, we can do better than the deal we’ve got and that’s what we’re pursuing. I don’t think the deal we got was a particularly good one.
“I don’t think we did as well as we should have done when we came to the question of cross border, crime and security, and that’s why we want to improve on it.”
Ahead of his state visit the unpredictable US President is expected to jet in to try out a new golf course at Trump International Golf Links in Aberdeenshire. On Monday No10 said the PM has accepted an invite to see him while he is in the UK.
Bizarrely, because it is a private trip rather than a state visit, no officials are expected to be present, despite the possibility they will talk about government business. This means there will be no record of what the two discuss.
A Downing Street spokesman said: “The White House has confirmed that President Trump will be making a private visit to Scotland later this month. Given he is visiting a private capacity, there will not be a formal bilateral but the Prime Minister is pleased to take up the president’s invite to meet during his stay.”
The new 18-hole course, owned by Mr Trump, is named the MacLeod course after his mum Mary MacLeod, who was Scottish. Police in Scotland have called on the Government to help with the “considerable” cost of protecting the divisive President.
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