Boris Johnson as foreign secretary meeting President Trump at the United Nations. Since Mr Johnson became prime minister, the men have spoken “five or six” times and are said to have a terrific rapport

Donald Trump is preparing to meet Boris Johnson before seeing any other European leaders to “send a signal” to them at the G7 summit in France next week.

The US has said it is prepared to work immediately on sector-by sector trade agreements after Britain leaves the European Union.

John Bolton, Mr Trump’s national security adviser, said on Monday that the chemistry between Mr Johnson and Mr Trump was already better than that between the president and Theresa May. “They’ve already had five or six phone calls,” he said. “It’s off to a roaring start.”

The G7 in Biarritz, which starts a week on Saturday, will be attended by Mr Trump, Mr Johnson, President Macron of France, Angela Merkel, the German chancellor, Justin Trudeau,