WHEN BOJO MET SLEEPY JOE
Summit: Boris Johnson and Joe Biden in the White House last night
‘Swipe at U.S. Afghan withdrawal’
■ Boris and Biden in historic White House summit
‘The ball is in the US court’
■ But President warns on hopes of trade deal
BORIS Johnson last night held historic talks with Joe Biden at the White House, as it emerged the UK could join America’s free-trade deal with Canada and Mexico.
The Prime Minister travelled to Washington DC for his first White House summit, following a summer in which relations between the two allies became strained over the Afghan crisis, and hopes of a comprehensive trade deal faded.
After the meeting, Mr Johnson showered praise on the US President, saying his action on climate change could help save the planet, while Mr Biden said the Cop26 climate summit in Glasgow in November was needed ‘with bells on’.
But the President issued a blunt warning over Northern Ireland, saying he felt ‘very strongly’ about the need to maintain the controversial Brexit checks which the PM wants to dilute.
Mr Biden also offered mitigation for US citizen Anne Sacoolas over the killing of British teenager Harry Dunn, saying her driving on the wrong side of the road was ‘unintentional’.
Speaking ahead of last night’s meeting, Mr Johnson said the bond between the two countries was ‘as good as it had been at any time in decades’.
Downing Street said the PM would use the meeting to hail the ‘fantastic state of UK-US relations’, but earlier he appeared to take a swipe at the US military’s rapid withdrawal from Afghanistan, which led to hundreds of British citizens and Afghan allies being left behind when the Taliban seized control.
In a thinly veiled criticism, Mr Johnson said the crisis could have been handled ‘maybe a bit differently’.
It also emerged that hopes of a standalone free-trade deal with the US were fading, as President Biden chooses to focus instead on domestic issues. After the meeting, he gave no hint that he was ready to agree to a postBrexit trade deal, saying it would have to be ‘worked through’.
An alternative now being explored is whether the UK could join the existing agreement between the US, Canada and Mexico.
Mr Johnson became only the second European leader to be hosted by Mr Biden at the White House, following Angela Merkel’s visit in July. The meeting came as:
■ Mr Biden boosted the PM’s hopes of clinching a global climate deal by pouring billions more into a new fund to help the developing world cut emissions;
■ Mr Johnson prepared to warn world leaders that the planet could become ‘uninhabitable’ unless they ‘grow up’ on the need to tackle climate change;
■ The PM was poised to ask Australian prime minister Scott Morrison to lift travel restrictions in time for the Ashes cricket series this winter;
■ New Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said the AUKUS defence pact with the US and Australia was a model for the way in which the UK could pursue a ‘flexible’ foreign policy after Brexit, combining trade, security and diplomacy;
■ Miss Truss said the UK would continue to pursue the return of
■ PM hails ‘fantastic state of UK-U.S. relations’
Mrs Sacoolas over the killing of Harry Dunn;
■ China pledged to stop building coal-fired power stations abroad, in another boost for the PM’s hopes of clinching a deal at the Cop26 summit.
A free trade deal with the US was seen as one of the great potential prizes of Brexit.
During talks with US Vice President Kamala Harris at the White House yesterday, the PM said the two countries had made ‘real progress’ on trade in recent years, including lifting the ‘curious ban’ on British beef.
But Mr Johnson refused to say whether he expected a deal to be struck before the next UK election, expected in 2024 – eight years after the vote to leave the EU.
The PM said President Biden had ‘a lot of fish to fry’.
And the Mail has learned that ministers are exploring alternative ‘off-the-shelf’ ways of improving trade links with the US.
One option being looked at is for the UK to join the existing trade deal between the US, Canada and Mexico. But this would mean accepting most of the terms already agreed between the three countries. Another idea is for both countries to join the existing Trans Pacific Partnership trade arrangement, which links 11 countries including Australia, Mexico and Japan.
A source familiar with the UK’s thinking said: ‘There are a variety
■ UK now aims to join America’s trading pact with Canada and Mexico
■ Biden says Harry Dunn death crash ‘unintentional’ and issues warning over Brexit
of different ways to do this. the question is whether the US administration is ready. the ball is in the US’s court.’
Miss truss is understood to have raised the impasse with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken during talks in New York on Monday. Later this week she will travel to Mexico for discussions that are expected to include a significant focus on trade.
Ministers privately point to the disparity between the close security relationship between the US and UK and the fact that Britain currently has a deeper trade relationship with Mexico than it does with America. they hope that the need to counterbalance China’s growing economic will persuade the US administration to seek closer trade ties with its own allies.
In an interview with NBC news yesterday, Mr Johnson did not dispute reports that Mr Biden would not take his calls for 36 hours at the height of the crisis in Afghanistan. But he said the two men had talked ‘very frankly’ about the crisis and insisted he did not feel ‘snubbed’.
the PM praised the US role in Afghanistan, saying it had been critical in the evacuation of thousands of Britons from Kabul. But asked whether he would have liked the evacuation to continue for longer, he said: ‘Could we have done it a bit differently? Maybe we could.’
In the run-up to yesterday’s White house meeting, US diplomatic sources said Mr Johnson had work to do after ‘whingeing in public’ about Afghanistan. One said the decision to withdraw had first been made by Donald trump following negotiations with the taliban, which were not opposed by the UK.
HARRy Dunn’s parents yesterday reached a ‘resolution’ in their US damages claim against his alleged killer Anne Sacoolas.
Sacoolas and her husband Jonathan, both reported to be former CIA agents, were due to give evidence under oath as part of the civil case.
The claim, being heard in the state of virginia, had unearthed material surrounding their secretive State Department roles. But yesterday’s agreement, for an undisclosed fee, has prevented further disclosure – fuelling speculation that the US government might have intervened.
Radd Seiger, the Dunn family’s spokesman, said the deal meant their attention would turn to the criminal case in the UK. He called the agreement a ‘real milestone’ but said there was ‘much work left to be done’ to secure justice for Harry.
Sacoolas has been charged with causing the 19-year-old’s death by dangerous driving following the fatal crash outside RAF Croughton in Northamptonshire in August 2019.
Her car was allegedly turning
‘Much work left to be done’
out of the base, where her husband worked as a US intelligence officer, when it struck Harry’s motorcycle.
She was able to leave the UK after the Trump administration underwrote her diplomatic immunity. The couple’s status in the UK was the subject of a fierce diplomatic row when Washington refused Britain’s demands to extradite Sacoolas to the UK to face justice.
As part of the civil damages claim, the virginia court heard the pair left the UK for ‘security reasons’ and that their intelligence roles were a factor in their departure. The financial settlement has caused suspicions that the US government may have intervened to prevent the release of further revelations about the couple’s roles.
Mr Seiger said: ‘We have been made aware that the US government made no secret of their displeasure at the British Government’s backing of Harry’s family in bringing the claim.’
The lawyer would not declare how much the Dunn family was paid, nor whether the US government had made a contribution. Sacoolas’s lawyers had previously offered to pay some degree of compensation.
Her lawyer John McGavin made the offer in US court documents but stated that it must be ‘limited to funeral expenses’. He added that there was ‘no plausible civil claim for dependency damages’.
Mr Seiger, commenting on the agreement yesterday, said: ‘It has come as some considerable relief to them that a resolution to the civil claim has now been reached successfully between the parties and they can put this part of the campaign behind them.’
He said the mental health of Harry’s parents was at an ‘all time low’, adding: ‘The family feel they can now turn their attention to the criminal case and the long-awaited inquest into Harry’s death which will follow the criminal case.’
Lawyers acting on behalf of Sacoolas have been approached for comment.