Boris Johnson has spoken to Donald Trump’s Vice President-elect in what is thought to be one of the US politician’s first calls to a foreign ally.

Mr Johnson, who previously criticised Mr Trump as “out of his mind”, tweeted that the conversation with Mike Pence underlined the “importance of the special relationship & need to tackle global challenges together”.

It comes after Theresa May also had a conversation with President-elect Trump yesterday, albeit only after reports emerged that the US leader had not made contact with the UK a priority.

Mr Johnson has previously said Mr Trump is “unfit” for office after the property tycoon suggested a ban on Muslims entering the US.

But after the election result, Mr Johnson insisted the UK should be optimistic about the future, adding that it was time to be “overwhelmingly positive about the possibilities” of Mr Trump’s presidency.

He said: “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.”

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The Prime Minister and Mr Trump had a telephone conversation at 1.45pm yesterday, Downing Street said, focusing on the UK-US “special relationship” and on strengthening bilateral trade.

But it came after news that Mr Trump had already spoken with at least nine leaders from other countries, including Egypt, Ireland, Mexico, Israel, Turkey, India, Japan, Australia and South Korea, before speaking with Ms May.

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Meanwhile, Downing Street has rejected the idea that ministers may use Nigel Farage’s links to Mr Trump to build bridges with the next US President.