Boris Johnson flies to New York for talks with Donald Trump’s team
Foreign secretarys meeting with US president-elect marks first formal contact between a UK minister and his team
Boris Johnson has flown to New York for the UK governments first formal face-to-face meetings with Donald Trumps administration, hours after the prime minister declared the president-elects remarks about women unacceptable.
The foreign secretary was expected to meet Trumps son-in-law, Jared Kushner, and the incoming White House chief strategist, Steve Bannon. The meeting marks the first formal contact between a UK government minister and the Trump transition team since his election in November.
Johnson, a leading member of the campaign for Britain to leave the EU, is likely to discuss the status of the special relationship once the former property tycoon takes office, and after the UK leaves the bloc.
Theresa May used her first interview of 2017 on Sunday to give her clearest indication yet that the UK would leave the single market, a move that will reinforce the importance of securing a trade deal with the US before Brexit.
The foreign secretarys visit comes after two of the prime ministers chiefs of staff, Fiona Hill and Nick Timothy, went on a private visit to meet members of the Trump team.
Following the successful meeting last month between the prime ministers chiefs of staff and president-elect Donald Trumps team, Boris Johnson is undertaking a short visit to the US for meetings with close advisers to the president-elect and senior congressional leaders, a Foreign Office spokesman said. The discussions will be focused on UK-US relations and other foreign policy matters.
Before the US election, Johnson was extremely critical of Trump. Following the president-elects suggestion that he would back a ban on Muslims entering the US and that parts of London were no-go areas, the foreign secretary said Trump was clearly out of his mind and betraying a quite stupefying ignorance that makes him unfit to hold the office of president of the United States.
Since Trumps victory, however, Johnson has described the billionaire as a dealmaker and called for an end to the whinge-o-rama over his victory.
Trump tweeted on Saturday night that he was planning to meet May shortly, with March seen as the most likely month. He said he was very much looking forward to meeting May in the coming months and described Britain as a very special ally.
May was challenged about Trumps previous comments during her first TV interview of the year.
His presidential campaign was plunged into crisis after a 2005 recording came to light of him bragging to the TV host Billy Bush about groping women, saying he could grab them by the pussy because of his celebrity status. Sophy Ridge asked May how the comments made her feel as a woman on her Sky News show.
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I think thats unacceptable, but in fact Donald Trump himself has said that and has apologised for it, the prime minister said. But the relationship that the UK has with the United States is about something much bigger than just the relationship between the two individuals as president and prime minister.
Thats important, but actually we have a longstanding special relationship with the United States. Its based on shared values and it is a relationship where, actually in the UK, we feel we can say to the US if we disagree with something that they are doing.
The relationship between the Trump team and May has been complicated by the unlikely intervention of Nigel Farage, the former Ukip leader, who had enjoyed an inside track with the Republican leader before it seemed likely he would win.
Farage and his entourage won a high-profile meeting at Trump Tower days after Trumps election, and he has since implied that the UK ambassador, Sir Kim Darroch, had no serious access to the Trump teams thinking.
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May said on Sunday: From the conversations I have already had I have had two very good, positive conversations with Donald Trump already I think we are going to look to build on that relationship for the benefit of both the US and the UK.
I think that is something that is optimistic and positive for the UK for the future.
On Monday, Johnson will meet congressional leaders including the speaker, Paul Ryan, the chairman of the foreign relations committee, Bob Corker, and the Senate Republican leader, Mitch McConnell.
He will not meet Trumps nominee for secretary of state, Rex Tillerson, as the protocol is to wait until after the confirmation process has been completed.
Johnson, probably the best-known politician in the May cabinet, has been a political visitor to New York before as London mayor, but like many Conservative politicians admonished Trump for suggesting Muslims would be banned from coming to America.
Beyond Brexit, the foreign secretary will need to probe the coming US administrations thinking on Iran, Syria, relations with Russia and Middle East peace talks.
It will be Johnsons second visit to New York as foreign secretary. His first was to the UN general assembly.