Sir Keir Starmer was hit with a brutal rejection by President Donald Trump as the Prime Minister failed to bid for Britain to be excluded from new tariffs.
It comes as the US State Department issued a statement saying it was "concerned about freedom of expression in the United Kingdom" with a source telling The Telegraph there should be "no free trade without free speech".
The concerns from Washington centre around the case of Livia Tossici-Bolt, who was prosecuted for holding a sign near an abortion clinic in Bournemouth reading: "Here to talk if you want."
Tossici-Bolt's case is set to return its verdict on Friday, with the US State Department saying it was "monitoring" the situation.
Meanwhile, The Sun reports Starmer invited Trump to visit the UK this June to sign a new limited trade deal that would dodge new export taxes.
However, the Prime Minister was reportedly snubbed on Sunday evening, as the two leaders failed to reach any resolution beyond Trump saying he would look into the details of the planned economic pact.
While Downing Street insiders said an exemption was never directly asked for during the PM’s update for the President on the status of negotiations, another source told The Sun Starmer had "pleaded" for more time for the UK and US to sort out a deal.
Labour's hopes for avoiding the Republican's controversial tariff plan are fading as it is set to be put into motion tomorrow, April 2, which Trump has dubbed "Liberation Day".
LATEST ON TRUMP'S TARIFF PLANS
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It comes as the US State Department issued a statement saying it was "concerned about freedom of expression in the United Kingdom" with a source telling The Telegraph there should be "no free trade without free speech".
The concerns from Washington centre around the case of Livia Tossici-Bolt, who was prosecuted for holding a sign near an abortion clinic in Bournemouth reading: "Here to talk if you want."
Tossici-Bolt's case is set to return its verdict on Friday, with the US State Department saying it was "monitoring" the situation.
Meanwhile, The Sun reports Starmer invited Trump to visit the UK this June to sign a new limited trade deal that would dodge new export taxes.
However, the Prime Minister was reportedly snubbed on Sunday evening, as the two leaders failed to reach any resolution beyond Trump saying he would look into the details of the planned economic pact.
While Downing Street insiders said an exemption was never directly asked for during the PM’s update for the President on the status of negotiations, another source told The Sun Starmer had "pleaded" for more time for the UK and US to sort out a deal.
Labour's hopes for avoiding the Republican's controversial tariff plan are fading as it is set to be put into motion tomorrow, April 2, which Trump has dubbed "Liberation Day".
LATEST ON TRUMP'S TARIFF PLANS
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