Truss to meet Biden and Macron in US

LIZ Truss will meet Joe Biden and Emmanuel Macron in New York against the backdrop of Brexit tensions and questions over whether she regards the French leader a "friend or foe"

In her first foreign trip as Prime Minister, Ms Truss was flying overnight to the States for the annual United Nations General Assembly (Unga).

The visit will contain a series of meetings, including with the EU's Ursula von der Leyen, and a speech to world leaders. It comes as political action resumes after the period of national mourning for the Queen.

Ms Truss hopes the focus will be largely on energy security and combating Russia's war in Ukraine, but clashes over the Northern Ireland Protocol are bound to feature.

Mr Biden, the US President with proud Irish heritage, has raised concerns about Brexit's threat to the peace process and has downplayed the chances of striking a free-trade deal.