Boris Johnson: UK 'first in line' for US trade deal
Foreign Secretary met with Trump's senior advisers saying special relationship 'won't change'.
The UK is "first in line" for a trade deal with the US, Boris Johnson has said after talks with Donald Trump's senior advisers.
The Foreign Secretary said the US President-elect has a "very exciting agenda" ahead, but the so-called special relationship between the two countries "won't change".
Barack Obama warned in April that Britain would be at the "back of the queue" for a trading agreement if it voted to leave the European Union.
Mr Johnson met Mr Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner and the president-elect's chief strategist Steve Bannon after flying to New York on Sunday on a hastily arranged trip and has been meeting other key Republicans in Washington.
Senate Foreign Relations Committee chairman Bob Corker tweeted that he had enjoyed a "very good meeting" with Mr Johnson.
Mr Johnson, meanwhile, said discussions with Donald Trump's team, which included a meeting with House speaker Paul Ryan, had been "valuable".
In a video posted on the Foreign Office Facebook page, he said: "Clearly, the Trump administration-to-be has a very exciting agenda of change. One thing that won't change though is the closeness of the relationship between the US and the UK.
"We are the number two contributor to defence in Nato. We are America's principal partner in working for global security and, of course, we are great campaigners for free trade.
"We hear that we are first in line to do a great free trade deal with the United States. So, it's going to be a very exciting year for both our countries."
Mr Trump has previously quashed Mr Obama's comments about Britain going to the "back of the queue" for a trade deal.
A month after the out-going president's intervention during the EU referendum campaign, Mr Trump told ITV that Britain leaving the EU would make no difference to a potential bilateral trade deal if he became president.
In an interview with Piers Morgan, he said: "I am going to treat everybody fairly but it wouldn't make any difference to me whether they were in the EU or not.
"You would certainly not be back of the queue, that I can tell you."