Donald Trump challenged Theresa May over her Brexit plan and its impact on a possible UK-US free trade deal during a fractious recent call as he travelled on Air Force One.

Well-placed UK sources told The Daily Telegraph that the US president was in a “bad mood” and acting like “Trump the Grump” during their conversation last Friday.

Mrs May called to congratulate Mr Trump on the Republicans' better-than-expected results at the US midterm elections but received an irritated response from the president, who reportedly berated her on a string of topics.

There is concern among some British figures who work closely on the US-UK relationship that Mr Trump is echoing the "Farage-Bannon line” on Mrs May’s Brexit proposals.

That refers to fierce criticism from Nigel Farage, the former Ukip leader, and Steve Bannon, the former White House chief strategist, about the Prime Minister’s Chequers plan.