Brexit news latest: We're not interested in pacts, say Tories as Nigel Farage savages Boris Johnson's 'shocking' deal with EU

Boris Johnson today rebuffed Nigel Farage’s offer of a Leave alliance just hours after Donald Trump’s intervention in Britain’s election, in which he urged the two to join forces.

Communities Secretary Robert Jenrick stressed that the Tories were “not interested in doing any pacts with the Brexit Party” for the December 12 poll.

He delivered the blunt message just hours before the Brexit Party’s election campaign launch.

Ahead of it, Mr Farage went on the attack against Mr Johnson’s Brexit deal, telling LBC: “Without wanting to hurt Boris Johnson, he [Mr Trump] told the truth about this shocking, awful new EU treaty that Boris calls his deal.”

The US President suggested that Mr Johnson’s Brexit plan could strangle, or at least limit, the prospects of a wide-ranging free trade deal between the US and UK.

Mr Jenrick rejected this claim, which undermines a key part of the Government’s Brexit plan, stressing: “Well, that’s not how we see it. We think that the new deal the Prime Minister has negotiated ... enables the whole of the UK to leave the EU customs union and that means that we can now strike our own free trade deals around the world.”

However, Mr Farage argued that it was “doubtful” that a US trade deal could be struck by 2023 because Britain would be “trapped” in negotiations with Brussels over the details for years.

“I strongly say on the back of what the President has said if that applies to America, it applies to Japan, India, Australia. For goodness’ sake Boris, drop the deal and let’s start again with a clean sheet,” he added.

The public clash this morning was triggered by Mr Trump breaking protocol to wade into Britain’s election.

He rejected Jeremy Corbyn’s flagship election claim that the NHS would be up “for sale” to US medical companies.

He told LBC radio that “it’s not for us to have anything to do with your healthcare system”, despite previously saying that the NHS would be on the table during negotiations on a US-UK trade deal.

Mr Trump also dealt a blow to Mr Johnson’s claim that Britain would be able to do a lucrative free trade deal with the US after Brexit. “To be honest with you, this deal under certain aspects of the deal you can’t do it, you can’t do it, you can’t trade,” he said. “I mean we can’t make a trade deal with the UK and we can be, because I think we can do many times of numbers that we’re doing right now, and certainly much bigger numbers that you’re doing under the European Union.”

But former international trade secretary Liam Fox said he could not see barriers to a free trade deal with America because the UK was leaving the EU customs union.

He suggested Mr Trump might have misunderstood the difference between the legally binding Withdrawal Agreement and the political declaration on the potential future trade ties with the European bloc.

Dr Fox stressed that Britain was not going to “give up” its food standards or regulation of the NHS to get a trade deal with America or other countries, as was made clear during trade negotiations with Canada.

“That is not the Withdrawal Agreement, that is actually a future trade agreement and this is what people don’t seem to necessarily grasp,” he told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.

“A withdrawal agreement from the EU does not actually determine what our future trading relationship will be ... the political declaration is not legally binding ... it sets the direction.”

A No10 spokesman said: “Under this new deal the whole of the UK will leave the EU customs union, which means we can strike our own free trade deals around the world from which every part of the UK will benefit.”

In the interview, Mr Trump also heaped praise on Mr Johnson and urged him and Mr Farage to work together, saying: “I’d like to see you and Boris get together cause you would really have some numbers.”

The Labour leader hit back, tweeting: “Donald Trump is trying to interfere in Britain’s election to get his friend Boris Johnson elected.”

Election experts say that if the Conservatives and Brexit Party compete against each other in many seats, it will make it harder for Mr Johnson to gain a Commons majority.

But Mr Johnson’s senior adviser Dominic Cummings has strongly opposed a pact with the Brexit Party.

If the two parties go head-to-head, it will splinter the Leave vote.

The Brexit Party could target Labour Leave seats in the North and Midlands but it is also likely to gain some Tory voters.