US secretary of state Mike Pompeo has said chlorinated chicken must be part of a post-Brexit trade deal, after dodging questions on the US suspect in the death of British teenager Harry Dunn.
It comes as Liberal Democrat acting leader Sir Ed Davey urged Remain voters to come together with the rest of the country after Britain’s “dark day” on Friday, as the nation prepares to leave the EU.
Meanwhile, chancellor Sajid Javid was expected to throw his weight behind the controversial HS2 rail project at a meeting with Boris Johnson and transport secretary Grant Shapps.
To follow events as they unfolded, see our live coverage below
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Government ‘working urgently’ with Chinese authorities on flights for British nationals in Wuhan
The government is doing “everything it can” to bring British nationals trapped in corona virus-hit Wuhan back to the UK, No 10 has said.
The PM’s official spokesman said around 200 people were waiting to be repatriated and the government was working closely with the Chinese authorities to get the necessary permissions for the plane to leave.
The spokesman told a Westminster briefing: “We are doing everything we can to get British people in Wuhan safely back to the UK.
“A number of countries flights have been unable to take off as planned including the British repatriation from Wuhan. We are working urgently with the Chinese authorities to make sure the flight can take off as soon as possible.”
The UK has not received the “necessary clearances” for the flight to take off, the spokesman said.
Once returned to the UK, people will be taken into quarantine at an NHS facility in an unnamed location.
No10 does not rule out overturning Javid over HS2
Downing Street declined to rule out Boris Johnson overruling Chancellor Sajid Javid, who is set to back HS2.
"The decision on HS2 is an important decision for the country and it will be taken based on the facts," the PM's official spokesman said.
Asked whether Mr Johnson could overrule the Chancellor, the spokesman replied: "It's an important decision that will be taken based on the facts and we will announce it when we are ready."
Steve Barclay, the Brexit secretary, and other ministers will lose their jobs at 11.01pm on Friday as the UK leaves the EU. They will entitled to a redundancy package - under usual rules - but it will be up to them to decide whether to take it.
Boris Johnson is to meet with Department for Exiting the European Union staff on Thursday to thank them before the department is dissolved.
The Prime Minister's official spokesman said Mr Johnson wrote to the workers before the afternoon meeting.
"I want to take this opportunity to thank each of you for your hard work over the last three and a half years," the PM wrote.
"Your contribution and that of the department has been vital for getting us to this moment.
"Some of you will have joined near the very beginning of the journey, and others more recently, but without your combined efforts we would not be where we are today."
US Secretary of State says UK will be 'front of the line' for a post-Brexit trade deal
Warm words on Brexit from Mike Pompeo - despite the tensions of the UK's decision to allow Huawei to build part of its 5G network.
“The previous administration took the view that if the United Kingdom made this decision it would be at the back of the line. We intend to put the United Kingdom at the front of the line,” Mr Pompeo told a Policy Exchange event in Westminster.
Mr Pompeo said the US wanted to “lower every barrier” to trade during negotiations with the UK.
He said: “An important part of this relationship is reducing the friction between these kinds of things, whether it is the friction of the ease of travel, it's the ease of exchange or confidence in information systems, of our students going to each other's schools and the cross-generation of knowledge that will flow from that, whether it is tariff barriers.
“We want to put all the places where friction happens across sovereign boundaries - we want to protect those boundaries because we owe it to our people to do, but once we've done that, once we've protected sovereignty, we want to lower every barrier towards the free flow of information, talent, capital - all the things that promote wealth and prosperity.
“Those and security. Those are the things that, if we do this well together, will be special and unique about the relationship after the United Kingdom finishes this process of departure from the EU.”
Pompeo dodges questions on extradition of US diplomat over death of British teenager.
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has dodged questions over why an American woman wanted for trial over the death of a British teenager has been allowed to “evade justice” by returning to the United States.
Pompeo caused fury in the UK by declining an extradition request for intelligence officer’s wife Anne Sacoolas, who is facing a charge of causing the death of 19-year-old Harry Dunn in Northamptonshire by dangerous driving last year.
Foreign secretary Dominic Raab last night expressed “disappointment” over the decision during talks with Pompeo on the first day of a two-day visit to London.
Pompeo was confronted directly about the Sacoolas case when he appeared on-stage with Mr Raab at a event in London, where he was asked: “Can you explain to us what is it about the special relationship that allows a US citizen to run over and kill an English boy and evade justice.”
The US secretary of state ducked the question, replying: “This was an enormous tragedy. An American had an accident here. The US is terribly sorry for the tragedy that took place and the loss of a British citizen’s life. It was horrible.
“We are doing everything we can to make it right. We are doing so in a way that I think protects the important relationship between the two countries as well.
“We will continue to work on this. Dominic raised this yesterday when we spoke. He has raised it each time we have spoken since it happened.
“We will continue to work our way through it to try to get a good resolution, a resolution that reflects the tragedy that took place that day.”
Later, the foreign secretary said he had never had any conversations about whether Prince Andrew could be traded for Sacoolas to assist the FBI investigation into the prince’s former friend Jeffrey Epstein.
Pompeo said he was “confident each of these cases will be resolved on their relative merits”.
Raab added: “I totally agree. There’s no barter, it’s a rules-based approach. That's what the treaty does. And we both see the extradition treaty works for both sides.”
He said it had never been raised with him before.
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