This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-37965089

The article has changed 13 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 2 Version 3
Farage first UK politician to meet Trump since election Farage first UK politician to meet Trump since election
(35 minutes later)
Nigel Farage has become the first British politician to meet Donald Trump since he became US president-elect, UKIP has said. Nigel Farage has become the first British politician to meet Donald Trump since he became US president-elect.
A party spokesman said the interim UKIP leader discussed "freedom and winning" with Mr Trump on a visit to Trump Tower in New York. A UKIP spokesman said the interim party leader discussed "freedom and winning" with Mr Trump on a visit to Trump Tower in New York.
UKIP sources say this had "made the prime minister look very foolish". Mr Trump's spokeswoman Kellyanne Conway said the meeting had been "very productive".
The meeting came after Mr Farage warned Theresa May on US media that she needed to "mend fences" with Mr Trump. Downing Street said Mr Farage had "no role" in the government's relationship with the incoming US administration.
Mr Farage told Fox News: "I think he has got to meet her. Mrs May's team have been quite rude about Trump, so there are some fences to be mended. Ms Conway said: "They enjoy each other's company and they had the opportunity to talk about freedom and winning and what all this means for the world."
"Trump is an Anglophile, he understands and recognises what our two great nations have done together between us. A UKIP source said the meeting had "made the prime minister look very foolish".
Analysis
By Iain Watson, political correspondent
UKIP sources told me that Nigel Farage has made the prime minister look "very foolish". And on the surface it is embarrassing.
Theresa May will not be meeting the president-elect until next year - yet a UK opposition politician has already popped in for a chat.
But Downing Street say they are relaxed about it; that Mrs May has already spoken to Mr Trump by telephone and there will be no role - formal or otherwise - for Mr Farage as a "go-between" with the new US administration.
Yet there are political dangers for the prime minister. Mrs May certainly will not be welcoming this opportunity for UKIP to bask in the reflected glory of a Trump victory.
People were asking what was the point of the party after the Brexit referendum - so the prime minister really will not want them resurrected as the "British Trumps"- the voice of forgotten voters.
She will have to renew efforts to claim that mantle for herself.
Mr Farage earlier told US media that Mrs May's team had been "quite rude" about Mr Trump, "so there are some fences to be mended".
"Trump is an Anglophile, he understands and recognises what our two great nations have done together between us," he told Fox News.
"And, thank goodness, we are coming towards the end of an American president who loathed Britain."And, thank goodness, we are coming towards the end of an American president who loathed Britain.
"One of the things we can do, we can have between us a sensible trade relationship, cut tariffs, we are massive investors in each other's countries. There's a bright future.""One of the things we can do, we can have between us a sensible trade relationship, cut tariffs, we are massive investors in each other's countries. There's a bright future."
When asked ahead of the meeting if Mr Trump had invited him, Mr Farage told reporters: "We're just tourists." When asked ahead of the meeting if Mr Trump had invited him, Mr Farage joked to reporters: "We're just tourists."
Downing Street said Mr Farage had "no role" in the government's relationship with the incoming US administration.
Mrs May plans to visit Mr Trump in the first three months of next year after his inauguration.Mrs May plans to visit Mr Trump in the first three months of next year after his inauguration.
BBC political correspondent Iain Watson said there were real political dangers for Mrs May.
She would not welcome UKIP basking in the reflective glory of a Trump victory, he said, because they could present themselves as the voice of the forgotten voters.