Brexit: Boris Johnson orders Trump trade talks to begin the day after UK leaves the EU
No 10 also warns top ministers to focus on briefs and avoid 'touring TV studios' - or face the sack in upcoming reshuffle
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Your support makes all the difference.Boris Johnson has tasked negotiators to begin US trade talks in parallel with EU discussions as he seeks to stamp his authority on the critical next phase of Brexit.
Downing Street said the prime minister had told officials to start discussions with countries including the US, Japan, New Zealand and Australia as soon as the UK leaves the bloc on 31 January.
No 10 sources also made it clear Mr Johnson will be focused on his domestic agenda - with senior ministers told to concentrate on delivering the prime minister's promises or face the sack in the upcoming reshuffle.
In a highly unusual move, Downing Street ordered top Tories to stop prioritising their own media profiles over "hard work" if they wanted to keep their jobs.
Mr Johnson’s Brexit timetable means the UK only has 11 months to secure a trade agreement with the EU or risk crashing out without a deal at the end of the year.
But a lucrative trade deal with Donald Trump remains highly prized by Brexiteers, despite the prospect of tough demands from the US on issues such as access to UK drugs markets.
The prime minister is expected to make a major speech next month on his plans for post-Brexit Britain, ahead of a possible trip to Washington where US officials are reportedly hoping he will begin trade talks.
But Mr Johnson has made it clear his focus will be at home, telling officials to limit his travel plans so he concentrate on cementing support from voters in northern seats who helped him into Downing Street.
Cabinet ministers hoping to keep their jobs in the upcoming reshuffle next month have been warned to get their heads down, and stop "touring TV studios" and having lunches with journalists, government sources said.
Downing Street's policy unit, led by Munira Mirza, will write to cabinet ministers in the coming weeks to set out the policies they are expected to deliver.
A No 10 source said: “In his time in office, the prime minister has been consistently clear that this government will reward competence and hard work.
“We’ve been impressed by members of the cabinet and junior ministers who have quietly got on with driving real change within their departments and delivering on the PM’s priority to level up our country.”
Meanwhile, the prime minister will travel to Berlin on Sunday for talks on the conflict in Libya, where he is expected to meet European leaders, including Emmanuel Macron and Angel Merkel.
Mr Johnson is also facing a crunch point in the Lords over his Brexit legislation next week, where peers will try to amend his bill to send it back to the Commons for fresh scrutiny.
The bill must pass through the Lords to become law in order to take the UK out of the EU by the 31 January Brexit deadline.
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