A backbench Tory Brexiteer has penned an open letter to Joe Biden claiming that Britain has a bigger mandate for leaving the EU than he does for his presidency.
John Redwood told the president-elect that Brexit “gave us a larger percentage mandate for exit than your own convincing win, so you will understand the importance to us of becoming a truly independent country again on 1 January”.
The Conservative MP went on to insist that the UK will uphold the Good Friday Agreement. Biden, who has Irish heritage, has said that he would not countenance a US-UK trade deal if it threatens peace on the island of Ireland.
‘False EU rumours’
“I must stress that the UK does uphold the Good Friday Agreement in Northern Ireland,” Redwood wrote. “As we leave the EU we have no plans to impose a hard border between the UK and the Republic of Ireland, contrary to false EU rumours.
“It is the EU which seems to be planning new border controls on their side of the border which you may like to take up with them.”
Despite Biden’s victory, Redwood claimed the election showed that there remains “considerable support for his Republican vision of growth promoted by lower taxes, putting America first when dealing with China, promoting peace in the Middle East, and protecting individual liberties” – because Donald Trump got more than 70 million votes.
Addressing Biden, Redwood added: “It is a pity Trump has chosen to query the election outcome without setting out convincing evidence of the voter fraud he alleges. It makes your task of uniting America more difficult.
“The UK respects democratic mandates and agrees with you that the results of counting all the valid votes are the sacred instruction of the people which all true democrats respect.”
Diplomatic wrangling
Boris Johnson is yet to receive a phone call from Joe Biden, amid speculation that the prime minister will not be “top of the list” as the president-elect begins reaching out to world leaders.
Downing Street confirmed that the two men have not spoken since Biden was declared victor over Donald Trump – and there is concern in Westminster that the new president will snub Johnson, who he described as a “physical and emotional clone” of Trump last year.
British diplomats reportedly believe that Angela Merkel, Emmanuel Macron and Irish premier Micheál Martin will be the first leaders to hear from Biden, as he seeks to rebuild trust with the European Union following years of hostility from Trump.
One source told the Daily Mail: “Look, we’re probably not top of the list for the first phone call. Are some people in government fretting about that? Yes, but you can read too much into it. If we find ourselves being called after Papua New Guinea then we should probably start to worry.”
Related: Johnson ‘not top of the list’ for Biden phone call, with pair yet to speak