Donald Trump: Theresa May's Brexit deal could harm UK trade with US
Video report by ITV News Political Editor Robert Peston
Donald Trump has laid into Theresa May's Brexit deal and said it could harm trade between the UK and the US.
Mr Trump said that he wanted the Prime Minister to "do something" about the agreement to ensure the UK can trade with the US more freely.
Speaking to reporters outside the White House he said: "Sounds like a great deal for the EU.
"I think we have to take a look at, seriously, whether or not the UK is allowed to trade.
"Because, you know, right now, if you look at the deal, they may not be able to trade with us. And that wouldn't be a good thing.I don't think they meant that.
"I don't think that the Prime Minister meant that. And, hopefully, she'll be able to do something about that.
"But, right now, as the deal stands she may not, they may not, be able to trade with the US. And, I don't think they want that at all.
"That would be a very big negative for the deal."
In response to Mr Trump's comments, a Downing Street spokesman said: "The political declaration we have agreed with the EU is very clear we will have an independent trade policy so that the UK can sign trade deals with countries around the world - including with the US.
"We have already been laying the groundwork for an ambitious agreement with the US through our joint working groups, which have met five times so far."
Mr Trump's judgement came as Mrs May faced a barrage of criticism from Tory MPs and members of the opposition 24 hours after EU leaders backed her Brexit deal on Sunday.
Leading the charge Jeremy Corbyn called her out on the "botched deal" claiming it leaves Britain with the "worst of all worlds."
"The Prime Minister may want to try and sell yesterday's summit as a great success, but to borrow a phrase, the reality is 'nothing has changed'", he said.
"The Prime Minister says if we reject this deal it will take us back to square one."
The criticism continued with members of her own party calling for her to reveal a "plan B."
Ahead of an expected Meaningful Vote on December 11 there was a distinct lack of support for Mrs May's deal in the Commons.
Tory former defence secretary Sir Michael Fallon described the deal as a "huge gamble", former foreign secretary Boris Johnson argued it did not "provide certainty to business" and ex-Brexit secretary David Davis asked why Mrs May was not withholding the £39 billion divorce bill until a comprehensive trade agreement had been reached.
In London the only voice backing Mrs May came from former Education Secretary Nicky Morgan.
She said: "It's the easiest thing in the world for people to criticise any deal that they haven't spent time negotiating, and it's the easiest thing in the world for people to remain in their entrenched positions they've been in for the last two years."
However, her sentiments were not echoed by others in the Commons.
In an indication of how deep the opposition goes one senior Tory MP told ITV News' Political Editor Robert Peston that Labour and opposition MPs are getting Brexit briefings from senior Tory staff members including Mrs May's chief of staff Gavin Barwell.
In a fiery exchange with the prime minster, Ian Blackford also took aim at Mrs May's plan for a TV debate.
"Will the prime minster debate with the First Minster of Scotland?" he asked.
His comments come as Mrs May's campaign-style bid to convince a majority in Parliament to back her Brexit deal could include a TV debate with Jeremy Corbyn.
When asked about the idea, first reported in the Daily Telegraph, the prime minister's spokesman did not rule it out, but said Mrs May "regularly" debates the Labour leader.
A Labour spokesperson insisted Mr Corbyn would "relish" a head-to-head showdown.
The PM told her Cabinet on Monday morning that Sunday's endorsement of the Withdrawal Agreement and Future Framework by EU leaders was "a significant moment" which had proved wrong those who said it would not be possible to reach a deal.
Mrs May's spokesman told reporters: "The Prime Minister's colleagues today congratulated her and thanked her for all her hard work in securing this deal."
The two-hour meeting also heard an update from Mr Barclay on preparations for a possible no-deal Brexit, which are continuing despite the deal being agreed in Brussels.
In the Commons Mrs May also said she used the wrong language when she told business leaders her post-Brexit immigration plans would stop EU workers being able to "jump the queue".
The prime minister was heavily criticised for the remarks, made in a keynote speech to the CBI's conference in London last week, where she outlined plans to curb immigration after Brexit.
Mrs May told MPs she should "not have used that language" when she was asked about the speech by the SNP's Philippa Whitford
At a historic summit in Brussels on Sunday, the leaders of the remaining 27 member states took less than 40 minutes to approve the deal.
Mrs May will now put it to a vote of MPs before Christmas but faces a battle to get it through the House of Commons in the face of intense opposition on both the Leave and Remain-supporting wings of her party.
Why would the PM be seeking a debate?
She has already started a campaign of selling her deal directly to the public in the hope their support can win round MPs opposed to the plan before the Commons vote.
That may include a notable shift in attitude towards TV debates, which the prime minister famously shunned after calling a snap election last April.
On the potential for a TV debate, which a Labour Party spokesperson said: “Jeremy would relish a head-to-head debate with Theresa May about her botched Brexit deal and the future of the country.”
Mr Corbyn reacted on Sunday to the EU leaders' endorsement.
He said the deal “is the result of a miserable failure of negotiation that leaves us with the worst of all worlds”.
How many MPs are opposed to the PM's deal?
More than 80 Tories have rejected the deal, with all the opposition parties – and Mrs May’s allies in the DUP – also set to oppose it.
Former foreign secretary Boris Johnson on Monday branded the Prime Minister’s deal a “disaster” and a “humiliation” for the UK.
In his regular Daily Telegraph column, he said: “The other EU countries have signed the deal immediately, because they know that they have us exactly where they want us.
“We are a satellite state – a memento mori fixed on the walls of Brussels as a ghastly gaping warning to all who try to escape.”
In the Commons, Sir Michael Fallon said: "Well nobody can doubt that the Prime Minister has tried her very best, are we not nonetheless being asked to take a huge gamble here?
"Paying, leaving, surrendering our vote and our veto without any firm commitment to frictionless trade or the absolute right to dismantle external tariffs.
"Is it really wise to trust the future of our economy to a pledge simply to use best endeavours?"
Will Theresa May quit if she loses the meaningful vote?
Focusing on the outcome of the vote Labour's Stella Creasy pressed the prime minster on whether she would "force a second vote" if the majority does not back her Brexit deal.
Mrs May responded she would be working to persuade members of the House "this is a deal that delivers on the vote of the British people."
At a press conference in Brussels, Mrs May refused to be drawn on whether she would stand down if she lost the vote, despite being repeatedly pressed on the subject.
“I am focusing on ensuring that I make a case for this deal to MPs,” she said.
Meanwhile, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker led the warnings there could be no return to the negotiating table if the deal – comprising the Withdrawal Agreement and the Political Declaration of future EU-UK relations – was rejected.
“This is the deal. It’s the best deal possible and the EU will not change its fundamental position when it comes to these issues,” he said.
“Those who think by rejecting the deal that they would have a better deal will be disappointed in the first seconds after the rejection of this deal.”