Trade talks with the US will kick off next month as British officials start to scope out plans for a deal, with the aim of setting up a free trade agreement as soon as possible after Brexit.

Liam Fox, the secretary for international trade, is in Washington to meet US commerce secretary Wilbur Ross and US trade representative Robert Lighthizer, discussing trade and investment between the two countries.

“We’re not allowed to conclude any negotiations as long as we’re part of the EU, but of course we are allowed to scope out the future relationship that we will require as we do leave,” Mr Fox told an audience at the Select USA Investment Summit.

“We have trade working groups already set up to do the preliminary scoping out of that work, and the first meeting will be in July this year.”