- Boris Johnson spoke openly during an hour talk with Conservative activists
- He said Trump’s approach ‘might get somewhere’ and was a ‘very good thought’
- The Foreign Secretary said US wants Britain to help with disarming North Korea
- Comes as David Davis reportedly threatened to resign from the Government
Boris Johnson has admitted he ‘increasingly admires’ Donald Trump’s approach to international politics, adding the US president’s ‘might get somewhere’ if he were to lead Brexit negotiations.
Speaking to a group of Thatherite Conservative activists at a private gathering on Wednesday evening, the Foreign Secretary revealed his innermost private thoughts regarding the UK’s foreign policy, Brexit, Russia and Donald Trump.
Mr Johnson said of Mr Trump: ‘Imagine Trump doing Brexit. He’d go in bloody hard… There’d be all sorts of breakdowns, all sorts of chaos. Everyone would think he’d gone mad. But actually you might get somewhere. It’s a very, very good thought.’
During the hour-long sitdown with Conservative Way Forward, Mr Johnson revealed he had also been in touch with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo regarding North Korea, adding that America wanted the UK to play a part in helping to facilitate talks.
When quizzed about the US president, Mr Johnson said he had grown to admire the Republican, joking that he would like him to lead Brexit talks.
In the recording obtained by Buzzfeed, the Foreign Secretary admitted there had been friction between the Remain and Brexiteer camps in the Cabinet about what the future relationship with the EU should look like.
‘I’m not going to hide it from you. There is an argument going on,’ he told activists, before adding the ‘moment of truth’ would soon be upon Brexit negotiations.
He said the final Breixt deal may violate ‘red line’ which Brexiteers vowed not to back down on, which keeps the UK ‘locked in orbit around the EU’ and in the customs union and single market.
More follows.
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