DOWNING Street has made clear Nigel Farage will have no formal role in UK-US government relations, stressing how there will be “no third person” in the relationship between Theresa May and Donald Trump.
It looks increasingly likely that the Prime Minister will visit the US to meet both the outgoing President Barack Obama and the incoming one before Mr Trump’s official inauguration on January 20; possibly at the beginning of January or possibly even before Christmas.
At the weekend, Mr Farage was the first western politician to meet the President-Elect at his Trump Tower base in New York.
The acting Ukip leader suggested that he could become a go-between between Washington and London in some sort of envoy role.
But Mrs May’s spokeswoman made clear that the anti-EU MEP would have no role between the two governments.
She explained how the PM had had a “very warm” telephone conversation with Mr Trump last Thursday in which he spoke about his “ties” to the UK – the Republican victor’s mother was Scottish and he owns golf courses in Scotland - and that there was an invitation to visit Washington at the “earliest opportunity”.
“He said he looked forward to enjoying the same close relationship that Reagan and Thatcher had…We have established routes of engagement with the President-elect and his team. Our diplomatic staff have been building those contacts and links in the run-up to the election. We have had engagements since between the PM as head of government with the President-elect and between the Foreign Secretary and Vice President.
“As I said the President-elect talked about enjoying the same close relationship as Reagan and Thatcher had. I don’t remember there being a third person in that relationship.”
Asked if there would any role at all for Mr Farage, the spokeswoman again said there was an “established route” of communication with the President-elect’s team, stressing: “Relations between the two teams are working well.”
Asked if Mrs May wanted to emulate the close Reagan-Thatcher relationship, the spokeswoman: “The PM wants an effective, strong working relationship with the President of the US because that is in the best interest of Britain.”
On concerns over Mr Trump’s views on Nato, which he has previously branded obsolete, the spokeswoman said the UK remained committed to what was the “bedrock” of collective western security and to working with the UK’s European partners.
Asked if the President-elect posed a threat to the future of Nato, she said the threats to the alliance were from cyber-attacks and Russia’s aggression on the eastern border.
She also stressed, in light of Mr Trump’s call for Nato members to increase their defence spending, how it was a UK-led initiative to get some alliance countries to increase their defence spending and meet the commitment of two per cent of GDP.
Earlier, Mr Johnson stressed how people should not “prejudge” Mr Trump and that his election should be seen as a "moment of opportunity" for Britain.
On Sunday, the Foreign Secretary refused to attend an emergency meeting of EU foreign ministers to discuss the implications of Mr Trump's victory, branding vocal European concerns about his election as a "whinge-o-rama".
Arriving for a regular meeting with his EU counterparts in Brussels this morning, he insisted that the election of the property tycoon and reality TV star could be "a good thing" for both Europe and Britain.
"There is a lot to be positive about and it is very important not to prejudge the president-elect or his administration. It's only a few days since the election has taken place. We all need to wait and see what they come up with. But we should regard it as a moment for opportunity."
Prior to Mr Trump's shock victory in last week's election, Mr Johnson had described him as "ill-informed" and said his comments on Islam showed "a quite stupefying ignorance that makes him frankly unfit to hold the office of President of the United States".
But arriving in the Belgian capital, Mr Johnson said the Republican's election reflected wider changes in public opinion to which politicians must respond.
"This is a time, as the Prime Minister is saying today, when there's a big change going on in the world," explained Mr Johnson.
"People who feel they haven't been properly listened to and properly represented are starting to make their voices heard; it's up to us, it's up to everybody, to listen to them and to take things forward in a positive way.”
He added: "Donald Trump - as I've said before - is a deal-maker and that could be a good thing for Britain but it could also be a good thing for Europe and that is what we need to focus on today."
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