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Donald Trump should get the 'reddest of red carpets' and address parliament, says Jacob Rees-Mogg

Downing Street has confirmed that Mr Trump will make his long-awaited working visit in July

Political Correspondent

Saturday 05 May 2018 18:07 BST

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Jacob Rees-Mogg: The 'reddest of red carpets' should be laid out for Trump's UK visit

Donald Trump should be permitted to address parliament on his long-delayed visit to the UK, Jacob Rees-Mogg has said.

The prominent Tory backbencher said the government must roll out “the reddest of red carpets” for the US president’s official trip, including allowing him to speak in the Palace of Westminster if he wishes – despite a ban from Commons speaker John Bercow.

Peers are considering allowing Mr Trump to follow in the footsteps of Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton by making a speech from the Royal Gallery on his trip to the UK in July, The Independent recently revealed.

In a wide-ranging interview with Sky News, the Eurosceptic MP also fired off a warning to Theresa May to stick to her position on taking the UK out of the customs union amid a cabinet deadlock over her Brexit approach.

Mr Rees-Mogg’s warm words were recorded before Mr Trump prompted a furious backlash by seeking to justify gun ownership with claims that knife violence in London left one hospital looking like a “war zone”.

The North East Somerset MP said: “Our relationship with the United States is our most important foreign relationship and whoever the president of the United States is, it is in our interest to treat him with the greatest respect and courtesy.

“And if that is what Mr Trump wants to do, yes of course it would be sensible to lay out the reddest of red carpets for him.

“He is a major ally. We have so many interests in common.”

After months of speculation, Downing Street confirmed that Mr Trump will make his long-awaited working visit on 13 July.

US ambassador Woody Johnson said the prospect of large-scale demonstrations would not deter the “thick-skinned” president from coming to London, after an earlier visit was scrapped amid concerns over huge protests.

Mr Rees-Mogg, who chairs the powerful European Research Group (ERG) of Tory Brexiteers, also pressed the prime minister to stick to her Brexit red lines by leaving the European customs union, rather than pursuing a “customs partnership” put forward by officials.

The ERG wrote to Ms May to oppose to the plan – under which the UK would collect import tariffs on behalf of the EU – and Mr Rees-Mogg has described the proposals as “completely cretinous”.

Ms May’s Brexit war cabinet is split down the middle over which approach to take.

Asked about the row, Mr Rees-Mogg said: “I trust the prime minister. She has said on so many occasions that she will take us out of the customs union.

The biggest issues facing UK on leaving EU

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1/8The biggest issues facing UK on leaving EU

The biggest issues facing UK on leaving EU

Post-Brexit immigration

workers sorting radishes on a production line at a farm in Norfolk. One possible post-Brexit immigration scheme could struggle to channel workers towards less attractive roles - while another may heighten the risk of labour exploitation, a new report warns.

PA

The biggest issues facing UK on leaving EU

Customs union

A key point in the negotiations remains Britain's access to, or withdrawal from, the EU customs union. Since the referendum there has been hot debate over the meaning of Brexit: would it entail a full withdrawal from the existing agreement, known as hard Brexit, or the soft version in which we would remain part of a common customs area for most goods, as Turkey does? No 10 has so far insisted that “Brexit means Brexit” and that Britain will be leaving the customs union, but may be inclined to change its position once the potential risks to the UK’s economic outlook become clearer.

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The biggest issues facing UK on leaving EU

Northern Ireland-Irish border

Though progress was made last year, there has still been no solid agreement on whether there should be a hard border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. To ensure borderless travel on the island, the countries must be in regulatory alignment and therefore adhere to the same rules as the customs union. In December, the Conservative Party’s coalition partners, the DUP, refused a draft agreement that would place the UK/EU border in the Irish Sea due to its potential to undermine the union. May has promised that would not be the case and has suggested that a “specific solution” would need to be found.

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The biggest issues facing UK on leaving EU

Transition period

Despite protests from a small number of Conservative MPs, the Government and the EU are largely in agreement that a transitional period is needed after Brexit. The talks, however, have reached an impasse. Though May has agreed that the UK will continue to contribute to the EU budget until 2021, the PM wants to be able to select which laws made during this time the UK will have to adhere to. Chief negotiator Michel Barnier has said the UK must adopt all of the laws passed during the transition, without any input from British ministers or MEPs.

EPA

The biggest issues facing UK on leaving EU

Rights of EU citizens living the UK

The Prime Minister has promised EU citizens already living in the UK the right to live and work here after Brexit, but the rights of those who arrive after Brexit day remains unclear. May insists that those who arrive during the transition period should not be allowed to stay, whereas the EU believe the cut-off point should be later.

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The biggest issues facing UK on leaving EU

Future trade agreement (with the EU)

Despite this being a key issue in negotiations, the Government has yet to lay out exactly what it wants from a trade deal with the EU. Infighting within the Cabinet has prevented a solid position from being reached, with some MPs content that "no deal is better than a bad deal" while others rally behind single market access. The EU has already confirmed that access to the single market would be impossible without the UK remaining in the customs union.

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The biggest issues facing UK on leaving EU

Future trade agreements (internationally)

The Government has already begun trying to woo foreign leaders into prospective trade agreements, with various high profile state visits to China, India and Canada for May, and the now infamous invitation to US President Donald Trump to visit London. However the UK cannot make trade agreements with another country while it is still a member of the EU, and the potential loss of trade with the world's major powers is a source of anxiety for the PM. The EU has said the UK cannot secure trade deals during the transition period.

EPA

The biggest issues facing UK on leaving EU

Financial services

Banks in the UK will be hit hard regardless of the Brexit outcome. The EU has refused to give British banks passporting rights to trade within the EU, dashing hopes of a special City deal. However according to new reports Germany has suggested allowing trade on the condition that the UK continues paying into the EU budget even after the transition period.

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“It was in the Conservative Party manifesto. That is the platform on which this country is being governed.

“It is bizarre to think that she would retreat from that promise.”

Mr Rees-Mogg also rebuffed questions about wanting to be prime minister, warning his Tory colleagues against rebelling.

“My general view is that the Conservative Party, when it does that sort of thing, when it has those periodic fits, causes itself more problems than solutions,” he said.

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