UK should ‘walk away’ if they don’t like Brexit deal: Trump
Ahead of London visit, US President also says Britain should refuse to pay divorce bill
LONDON: Britain should go for a no-deal Brexit with the European Union and refuse to pay the agreed £39 billion (S$68 billion) divorce bill, US President Donald Trump told Britain's The Sunday Telegraph newspaper on the eve of a visit to London.
The comments came after he told The Sun he thought former foreign secretary Boris Johnson would make an "excellent" prime minister to take over from Mrs Theresa May, who is to resign on June 7.
Mr Trump is to embark on a three-day state visit to Britain from today, during which he will meet Queen Elizabeth II and have talks with Mrs May.
In his interview with The Sunday Telegraph, he urged Britain to follow his rule book in making deals when it came to Brexit.
"If you don't get the deal you want, if you don't get a fair deal, then you walk away," he said.
On the divorce bill, Mr Trump also told the newspaper: "If I were them (Britain), I wouldn't pay US$50 billion. That is me. I would not pay, that is a tremendous number."
'SMART PERSON'
Mr Trump also said Britain's anti-EU and populist politician Nigel Farage, head of the Brexit Party, should be involved in negotiating his country's exit from the European Union.
"He is a very smart person" with a "lot to offer", said Mr Trump, although he acknowledged that British authorities "won't bring him in".
Mr Trump also urged Britain to be "very careful" about involving Chinese tech giant Huawei in its new 5G network.
He said: "Well, you have other alternatives and we have to be very careful from the standpoint of national security.
"You know we have a very important intelligence gathering group, that we work very closely with your country (Britain) and so you have to be very careful."
Large protests are planned during Mr Trump's visit.
The mayor of London, Mr Sadiq Khan, said yesterday in a piece in The Observer newspaper Mr Trump was "one of the most egregious examples" of a growing global threat from the far right, and his "divisive behaviour flies in the face of the ideals America was founded upon - equality, liberty and religious freedom".
He said populist politicians such as Mr Farage "are using the same divisive tropes of the fascists of the 20th century to garner support, but are using new sinister methods to deliver their message". - AFP
Get The New Paper on your phone with the free TNP app. Download from the Apple App Store or Google Play Store now
