PM at odds with Reeves over trade 'pecking order'

Sir Keir Starmer has slapped down Rachel Reeves after she suggested that the government is prioritising trade relations with the EU ahead of the US.

- DAVID MADDOX HOLLY EVANS KATE DEVLIN

The remarks to the BBC by the chancellor came ahead of a delicate meeting in Washington DC with her US counterpart, Treasury secretary Scott Bessent, as the UK government attempts to get a trade deal over the line.

The prime minister has been insisting for months that a choice between the US and the EU is “a false choice” as he tries to reset the Brexit deal at the same time as strengthening his relationship with Donald Trump. But in her interview yesterday, Ms Reeves apparently revealed the government’s real priorities when she said that the EU was our closest trading partner.

She told the BBC: “I understand why there’s so much focus on our trading relationship with the US but actually, our trading relationship with Europe is arguably even more important, because they’re our nearest neighbours and trading partners.