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.
Donald Trump meets British Prime Minister Keir Starmer
Reuters
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".
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Trump's supporters have spearheaded a war on DEI policiesREUTERS
The Prime Minister been hoping to dodge the tariffs
PA
A diplomat from the US Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor met Tossici-Bolt during a recent visit to the UK.
A statement said: "US-UK relations share a mutual respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms.
"However, as Vice-President Vance has said, we are concerned about freedom of expression in the United Kingdom. It is important that the UK respect and protect freedom of expression."
Tossici-Bolt was charged with infringing a public spaces protection order after holding her sign near the clinic, therefore breaching a designated buffer zone.
She pleaded not guilty, and the verdict is due to be handed down by a district judge at the end of the week.
The 64-year-old retired medical scientist told The Telegraph: "My case, involving only a mere invitation to speak, is but one example of the extreme and undeniable state of censorship in Great Britain today."
Business secretary Jonathan Reynolds PABusiness secretary Jonathan Reynolds said the Government was hopeful that any tariffs imposed by Trump would be reversed shortly, if the two sides agree on a tech-led economic deal.
Reynolds told Sky News this morning that Britain was taking a "calm-headed approach" and asked if he was hopeful that a deal would lead to tariffs being dropped in weeks or months, he said: "I am, that would be my objective."
He added that he could not give a timescale on such a reversal, but warned the longer a deal took, the more likely it would become that Britain would need to impose retaliatory tariffs.
