The UK-US trade deal will save thousands of jobs in the car and steel industry which had been threatened by Donald Trump’s tariffs, Sir Keir Starmer has said. The trade agreement was confirmed in a call between the Prime Minister and the US President which was broadcast live on both sides of the Atlantic.

The path to Thursday’s UK-US trade deal has been bumpy. “It has progressed in fits and starts,” said one British negotiator. Starmer has been effusive in his flattery of Trump to keep negotiations on track, leaving many Labour MPs gritting their teeth.