Trump: PM is ‘great one’ the UK needs

‘Boris’s number one supporter’

DONALD Trump backed Boris Johnson’s decision to suspend Parliament yesterday – and mocked Jeremy Corbyn by saying it would be ‘very hard’ for the Labour leader to stop it.

The US President reaffirmed his backing for Mr Johnson on Twitter just days after the two men met at the G7 summit in Biarritz.

He wrote: ‘Would be very hard for Jeremy Corbyn, the leader of Britain’s Labour Party, to seek a no-confidence vote against new prime minister Boris Johnson, especially in light of the fact that Boris is exactly what the UK has been looking for and will prove to be “a great one!” Love UK.’

In response to the tweet, Mr Corbyn said: ‘I think what the US President is saying is that Boris Johnson is exactly what he has been looking for, a compliant Prime Minister who will hand Britain’s public services and protections over to US corporations in a free trade deal.’

Other Labour MPs joined in the attack on Mr Trump. David Lammy tweeted: ‘Stay out of our politics. Stay out of the UK. Britain does not need input from racists.’

And shadow home secretary Diane Abbott tweeted: ‘Boris’s number one supporter. That is why Boris has to be stopped. Block The Coup.’

Mr Trump has traded barbs with Mr Corbyn on many occasions, and the Labour leader joined protests against his state visit in June.

The President lavished praise on Mr Johnson at the G7 summit over the bank holiday weekend.

He said: ‘I really believe that Boris Johnson will be a great Prime Minister. We really like each other, and we had a great two and a half days.

‘I have been waiting for him to be Prime Minister for about six years. I told him, “What took you so long?”’

But Mr Trump also warned the Prime Minister he would struggle to reach a Brexit agreement with EU negotiators in Brussels.

He said: ‘Boris has to try and do something with Brexit – it’s very tough. I deal with the EU – it’s a very strong group of people, they have their ideas and they’re not easy to deal with, I will tell you.

‘The EU is very tough to make deals with – just ask Theresa May.’

In response to the comments, Mr Johnson said that, while the EU were tough negotiators, ‘that doesn’t mean we won’t do a deal’.