Donald Trump is ‘wrong’ to say Britain’s Brexit deal could scupper new trade plans between the US and UK, Theresa May’s deputy has said.

Cabinet Office Minister David Lidington leapt to the Prime Minister’s defence after Trump said her deal could leave the UK unable to trade.

He spent the morning defending the withdrawal agreement against Sir Michael Fallon MP, who said it was the ‘worst of all worlds’.

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Theresa May defended her plans in the House of Commons on Monday (Picture: Getty)

Mrs May’s former defence secretary and once-close ally said he will not vote in favour of the agreement, telling BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: ‘My fear is that this deal gives us the worst of all worlds – no guarantee of smooth trade in the future and no ability to reduce the tariffs that we need to conclude trade deals with the rest of the world.




‘So, unless the House of Commons can be persuaded somehow that those are possible, then I think, yes, the deal is doomed.’

Mr Fallon said the Government must take notice of Trump’s claim that the withdrawal agreement ‘sounds like a great deal for the EU’.

He said: ‘It’s no use us just brushing that off, saying “No, no, we can do a deal with America”; he’s the President of the United States, and if he says it’s going to be difficult, then it certainly looks like it’s going to be difficult.

‘This is not a good deal and we need a better deal.’

Donald Trump warned Theresa May that her planned withdrawal agreement to get Britain out of the EU could hamper trade with the US (Picture: AP)

The PM’s de facto deputy David Lidington said Trump was ‘wrong’ (Picture: PA)

Former defence secretary Michael Fallon said the ‘deal is doomed’ (Picture: Getty)

But Mr Lidington shrugged off Trump’s comments, telling the same programme: ‘I don’t think it was that unexpected.’

The PM’s de facto deputy insisted the wording of the withdrawal agreement does mean the UK can still negotiate trade deals during the transition period, to be signed once the country fully exits the EU.

He said: ‘I think it was always going to be challenging to do a deal with the United States.

‘The United States is a tough negotiator, President Trump’s always said very plainly ‘I put America first’.

‘Well, I’d expect the British Prime Minister to put British interests first, but it’s going to be a very tough negotiation.’

It comes as Mrs May heads for Wales and Northern Ireland to try to sell the deal she brought back from Brussels on Sunday as ‘good for the union’.

The PM also challenged Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn to a Brexit TV debate on the issue, as she launched an intensive two-week campaign to try to get her EU exit agreement through the Commons.

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