The Prime Minister of New Zealand today said she is 'here, ready and willing' to do a post Brexit trade deal with the UK.

Jacinda Ardern said she has spoken to Theresa May's Government 'many times' about striking a deal after Britain quits the EU.

And she is ready to thrash out the details and sign on the dotted line once Britain is free to do so.

Her comments are a boost to Mrs May who yesterday confirmed Britain will be quitting the EU customs union so we can strike free trade deals globally.

Ms Ardern told the BBC's Radio 4 Today Programme: ‘Well we of course multitask, so there is a lot on our plate but it is a significant priority.

‘We have certainly put our hands up.

Jacinda Ardern (pictured with her partner Clarke Gayford) said she has spoken to Theresa May's Government 'many times' about striking a deal after Britain quits the EU

‘We know that the priority from the UK’s perspective is of course the Brexit negotiations themselves.

‘But beyond that we are here, ready and waiting and really willing to model what those future trading agreements from the UK’s perspective could look like.

‘So when you are ready we are.’

The New Zealand PM said she has spoken with British minsters about doing a deal many times, adding: 'We have said we are a willing and waiting partner many times.'

She said that while many people have become disillusioned with free trade - blaming it for growing insecurity - deals bring prosperity to countries.

She said: ‘Speaking more generally, I’m very mindful of the fact that there has been an increasing scepticism about free trade agreements amid an increasing sense of financial insecurity.

‘And some people blame globalisation for that.

‘Perhaps we could say that may have bubbled up and at least have become part of the conversation.

‘What I have observed, at least form a distance, around Brexit.

‘What we want to demonstrate is that actually trade agreements should be modeled on the values you have as a nation – so we want the to be progressive and inclusive.'

Her comments are a boost to Theresa May (pictured outside No10) who yesterday confirmed Britain will be quitting the EU customs union so we can strike free trade deals globally.

It comes after Mrs May yesterday rejected Treasury plans to keep Britain in a customs union with the EU – despite Brussels saying it will make new trade barriers ‘unavoidable’.

Chancellor Philip Hammond has been privately pushing for parts of the economy to stay in the customs union until Britain has struck trade deals with nations such as the US, China and Japan, which could take many years.

The Treasury, backed by Business Secretary Greg Clark, believed it was winning this argument within government.

But Whitehall sources said the PM had rejected the idea and was committed to making a clean break once the Brexit transition period ends in 2021.

A source said: ‘I don’t doubt this idea is being discussed somewhere in Whitehall, but it is not being discussed in Downing Street. We are leaving the customs union and we are not rejoining it.’