May and Trump break the ice over Brexit

● First call since public Twitter row ● Jerusalem and Yemen also on agenda

Theresa May and Donald Trump discussed a swift post-brexit trans-atlantic trade deal in a telephone call yesterday that reopened communication lines between the two allies. The British Prime Minister spoke to the US President for the first time since publicly condemning earlier this month his sharing of video posted by the far-right Britain First group.

A Downing Street spokesperson described the call as warm. The pair was said to have discussed Mr Trump’s recent decision to recognise Jerusalem as the capital of Israel – a declaration to which the UK is opposed.

“They discussed the different positions we took on the recognition of Jerusalem as the Israeli capital and agreed on the importance of the US bringing forward new proposals for peace and the international community supporting these efforts,” the PM’S spokesperson said.

“The Prime Minister also raised Yemen, highlighting our ongoing deep concerns at the humanitarian situation. They agreed on the vital importance of reopening humanitarian and commercial access to prevent famine and alleviate the suffering of innocent Yemenis.

“The Prime Minister updated the president on the recent good progress of the Brexit negotiations and the president set out the progress he had made on his economic agenda. They agreed on the importance of a swift postbrexit bilateral trade deal.

“They wished each other a very merry Christmas and looked forward to keeping in close touch.”

The PM’S spokesman said the fact it took 13 days between Mrs May announcing her intention to speak to Mr Trump about Jerusalem and the call actually taking place was a “matter of scheduling”.

A White House official said Mr Trump’s decision to share posts by Britain First group’s deputy leader Jayda Fransen on Twitter did not come up during the phone call.

Mrs May had rebuked her US counterpart over the move, declaring it “wrong” for the US president to retweet the videos. Mr Trump hit back by telling Mrs May to focus on “destructive radical Islamic terrorism” in the UK rather than on him.

The Prime Minister had earlier told her Cabinet the final Brexit deal must allow Britain to set its own rules and strike “ambitious” trade deals with countries around the world while having the “best possible” access to European Union markets.

In yesteday’s 105-minute meeting, the Cabinet did not discuss the position set out so far by the European Commission’s chief negotiator Michel Barnier. Mr Barnier’s vision of a free trade agreement similar to that struck with Canada last year differs sharply from Mrs May’s demand for a bespoke UK deal delivering a “deep and special partnership”.

Mrs May’s spokesman said the PM told Cabinet she was seeking “a significantly more ambitious deal than the EU’S agreement with Canada”.