Brexit boost for Britain as Donald Trump targets EU with massive 25% tariffs

Britain has been handed a massive Brexit boost after Donald Trump vowed to clobber the EU with 25% import tariffs.

The US president took revenge on the bloc after saying it was formed in order to “screw the United States”.

Mr Trump’s hammerblow came after Sir suggested being outside the EU could benefit Britain in its relationship with the Trump administration.

Asked by the Daily Express if is his “trump card”, Sir Keir said Britain would continue to act as a “bridge” between the US and Europe.

Speaking en route to Washington, where he is due to hold high-stakes talks with the Republican strongman, Sir Keir said: “When it comes to defence and security, we have for decades acted as a bridge because of the special relationship we have with the US and also our allegiance to our European allies.

“That’s been there before . It survives , and it is really important, because the special relationship is huge.

“So that sort of sitting as being able to be a bridge between the US and Europe has been in place for decades and I think it should continue in place.”

Sir Keir insisted Mr Trump is on the same side at the UK when it comes to securing lasting peace in .

The Prime Minister vowed “there’s no issue between us” despite America’s split with its European allies when it refused to blame for its invasion of .

’s chief henchman, Sergei Lavrov, has also accused the UK and France of fuelling the war by pushing for a peacekeeping force in the country in the event of a peace deal.

But speaking to reporters enroute to Washington DC, the Prime Minister insisted he and Mr Trump are united despite America siding with in a UN vote this week.

And he hit out at Larov’s comments, insisting the Kremlin is to blame for the conflict which has claimed hundreds of thousands of lives.

“There’s one aggressor here and that’s ,” he said.

“They have invaded and occupied a sovereign country in Europe, and they bear full responsibility for the conflict.”

Pressed on whether Mr Trump shares the same view, he added: “Of course, the president has been very clear about the peace that he wants.

“There’s no issue between us on this.”

He also suggested British “peacekeeping” troops could be deployed to to stop Putin trying to invade the country again after any peace deal.

“I want a lasting peace, and I don’t think that will happen if there isn’t an effective deterrence to Putin,” he said.

“The UK will play its part in that with others but we need a US backstop. Because I don’t think there will be a deterrent to Putin if we don’t have one”.

Sir Keir’s talks with the US president come amid an ongoing row about defence spending.

The PM claims he will boost Britain’s military might with a £13.4billion-a-year hike from 2027.

But economists and opposition parties have accused the PM of playing “silly games” with the numbers and insist the real increase will only be £6billion a year.

The Defence Secretary admitted the real terms spending increase will be around £6billion – significantly less than the £13.4billion figure used by the Prime Minister on Tuesday.

Pressed by the , John Healey argued: “The definition of defence numbers can be done in a number of different ways. You can take it as a percentage of GDP, you can take it as cash terms.

“What was talking about yesterday was an increase in hard cash that will be spent on defence in two year’s time compared to what’s being spent today.”

“If we were doing it in real terms taking in inflation, it would be something over £6billion.”

The Labour leader has also refused to say whether he will use any cash from the defence spending uplift to fund the Chagos Islands deal with Mauritius.

At Prime Minister’s Questions on Wednesday, Tory leader Kemi Badenoch demanded answers over the true amount of extra cash Britain’s military is set to receive and what it will be spent on.

The Tory leader said: “We need clarity and transparency over the money, and we also need to know where the money is going.

“This morning, the Defence Secretary could not say whether the Chagos deal would come out of the defence budget. Can the Prime Minister confirm to the House that none of the defence uplift includes payments for his Chagos deal?”

Sir Keir dodged the question, insisting that the planned deal over the overseas territory is “extremely important for our security and for US security”. He pledged to put the deal to the Commons when it is finalised.

Following the parliamentary row, during which Mrs Badenoch said the Prime Minister was “patronising”, she accused him of “all but confessing that the cost of surrendering the Chagos Islands will come from the defence budget”.

She added: “Labour must not give a penny of defence cash to fund this shady deal.

“National interest first. No ifs or buts.”

The Government is currently in negotiations about handing the British overseas territory to Mauritius and leasing back the US-UK Diego Garcia military base for 100 years.

While the Government has staunchly refused to spell out any details of the deal, it is believed the total cost could be up to £18billion.

Shadow armed forces minister Mark Francois said: “How will Labour MPs feel when they realise that overseas aid is being cut to give billions to Mauritius, all to rent back a base that we already own?”

’s promised defence spending rise to 2.5% remains contentious among military experts, who continue to warn that it will not be enough.

Defence analyst Nicholas Drummond told the Express that while the move is “a step in the right direction … it is too little, too late”.

He warned: “We definitely need to spend more but it’s a question of priority. And if we don’t prioritise this now then when will we?

“And the reason why it’s too late is because the timelines to bring new equipment into service are just so extended because it’s very complicated, bespoke stuff.

“We need to be placing orders now, not in two years’ time, just because of those lead times.”

Former British Army officer and Tory defence minister Tobias Ellwood expressed similar concerns.

He said: “It’s going to take time. You can’t procure battle frigates overnight but there are things we can do in the grey-zone area, which is where we are most vulnerable. London is vulnerable to attack because we have no air defence.”

Ukrainian president will attend a gathering of European leaders in the UK on Sunday to discuss defence and security.

He is also expected to visit Mr Trump in the White House later this week amid reports he has struck a deal with the US over Ukrainian minerals.