No 10 says Farage is an ‘irrelevance’ amid his suggestions he’ll work with Trump
Downing Street has denied claims that they will use Nigel Farage as a go-between for talks with the President-elect Donald Trump, claiming he was an "irrelevance".
The Telegraph claimed last night that ministers would be forced to use the contacts of the interim Ukip leader as they have no links to the President-to-be or his team.
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No 10 denied the government lacked the contacts with Trump's team, and international trade secretary, Liam Fox, has insisted there was no intention of using Farage as a go-between. Fox himself is regarded as having strong Republican contacts in the US.
During the election campaign Farage made visits to the US and appeared with him at rallies. Trump had said a win for him would be "Brexit times ten".
Since Trump's victory, Farage has indicated he wants to play a role in building relations with the UK. "It it comes down to it, I could be there as a responsible adult to make sure everything's OK."
Theresa May spoke on the phone with Trump yesterday after he secured an unexpected victory in the US election, but concerns were raised after he spoke with at least nine other leaders before her.
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Downing Street said Trump had reiterated the importance of the "special relationship" between the two countries and that the UK was a "very, very special place for me and for our country." He invited her to visit Washington DC to meet him as soon as possible.
Foreign secretary Boris Johnson, who had previously said Trump was "out of his mind" for suggesting a ban on Muslims entering the US, has changed his tune on the President-elect.
Johnson said: "I would respectfully say to my beloved European friends and colleagues that it's time that we snapped out of the general doom and gloom about the result of this election and collective 'whinge-o-rama' that seems to be going on in some places."