Boris Johnson news – live: EU reveals no Brexit talks arranged despite no-deal threat as PM ‘absolutely’ rules out calling election before 31 October
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The EU has revealed that no Brexit talks are currently scheduled with Boris Johnson‘s government, despite Britain being on course to leave the bloc without a deal in less than three months.
A spokesperson for the European Commission said they had “no further announcements” to make about future negotiations.
Later on Friday evening, Mr Johnson received a call from Donald Trump, the US president, in which the pair agreed to begin free trade talks as soon as the UK leaves the EU, Downing Street said.
A spokesperson said the two world leaders discussed the “unparalleled” trade opportunities offered by Brexit.
It came after Mr Johnson suffered a blow to his efforts to woo hardline Brexiteers when a senior Eurosceptic MP snubbed his offer of a government job.
However, he may have more success in other areas of recruitment, as insiders said he had requested a dog to join him in No10.
The new prime minister is understood to raised the idea with staff when he addressed them on his arrival and received an enthusiastic response.
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Boris Johnson is pledging to fund a new rail route between Manchester and Leeds.
Mr Johnson will give his backing to the trans-Pennine transport link which is intended to help "turbo charge" regional growth during a speech in Manchester on Saturday.
The prime minister is expected to say: "I want to be the PM who does with Northern Powerhouse Rail what we did with Crossrail in London.
"And today I am going to deliver on my commitment to that vision with a pledge to fund the Leeds to Manchester route.
"It will be up to local people and us to come to an agreement on the exact proposal they want - but I have tasked officials to accelerate their work on these plans so that we are ready to do a deal in the autumn."
Downing Street said that detailed plans regarding the proposed Manchester to Leeds rail route will be published in the autumn, following a review into HS2.
The trans-Pennine route is expected to cut journey times and provide additional capacity for people across the region.
Speaking to reporters at the White House about his call with Mr Johnson, Mr Trump said: "I think we are going to have a great relationship.
"And Boris is going to be a great prime minister. I predict he will be will be a great prime minister.
"He has what it takes. They needed him for a long time."
Mr Johnson has had a phone call with his Canadian counterpart Justin Trudeau this evening.
The pair discussed "the importance of the UK-Canada relationship and the values shared by both countries", a Downing Street spokesperson said.
"In particular, Prime Minister Johnson underlined the importance of the rules-based international system, human rights and media freedom - following the successful conference co-hosted by the UK and Canada earlier this month.
"On Brexit, the prime minister stressed the importance of the UK's international friendships as we leave the EU.
"Prime Minister Trudeau pledged to work with the UK to achieve a smooth transition to a UK-Canada free trade agreement.
"The two leaders looked forward to meeting again at the G7 Summit in Biarritz in August."
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