Father and daughter who died in caravan fire named

A father and his 10-year-old daughter who died in a caravan fire on Saturday have been named as Lee and Esme Baker.

Lee Baker, 48, and his daughter Esme, from the Nottingham area, were excited to spend the first weekend of the holidays together, their family said in a statement.

They added: “We are all utterly devastated at what’s happened. This loss is incomprehensible at the moment, and we ask for people to give us space to process this utterly heartbreaking loss.”

Police were called to Golden Beach holiday park in Lincolnshire at 3.53am on Saturday morning to reports of a fire at the site.

Detective Inspector Lee Nixon of Lincolnshire Police, senior investigating officer, said: “We believe we might be close to arriving at a working hypothesis. We are working hard to validate the facts available to us to be able to provide answers for the family and loved ones of those who were very tragically taken by this fire. Yet the evident intensity of the fire has made this task incredibly challenging.”

Dan Moss, area manager for prevention and protection at Lincolnshire Fire and Rescue, said: “Our thoughts and deepest condolences are with the family at this time. Our fire investigation team is working with colleagues from Lincolnshire Police, and a full investigation into the cause of the fire is ongoing.

“Once investigations are complete, local fire crews and our community fire safety team will be on hand to talk to people in the area and address any fire safety concerns they may have, at what will be an upsetting time.”

Measles outbreak claims life of second child as outbreak spreads

President Donald Trump’s Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr has said he visited Texas after it was revealed a second child had died of measles in the state.

Kennedy reportedly attended the child’s funeral on Sunday.

The eight-year-old girl — identified by Kennedy as Daisy Hildebrand — died early on Thursday morning from “measles pulmonary failure” while she was being treated at a hospital in Lubbock, Texas.

Her death is the second tied to a measles outbreak in West Texas and the second tied to the disease in the U.S. in a decade. Dozens of residents in the region — including in bordering states — have been infected.

Kennedy wrote on X: “My intention was to come down here quietly to console the families and to be with the community in their moment of grief.”

Despite his past as a vocal vaccine skeptic, Kennedy acknowledged that the MMR vaccine was the most effective way to prevent the spread of measles.

“The most effective way to prevent the spread of measles is the M.M.R. vaccine,“ he wrote. “I’ve spoken to Governor Abbott, and I’ve offered HHS’ continued support. At his request, we have redeployed CDC teams to Texas. We will continue to follow Texas’ lead and to offer similar resources to other affected jurisdictions.”

The UMC Health System said on Sunday that the girl had not been vaccinated against the disease and had no underlying health conditions that contributed to her death.

The first death in the region was also an unvaccinated child who died in February. There may be a third death — an unvaccinated individual in New Mexico — who tested positive for measles. Health officials are still trying to confirm if measles was the individual’s cause of death.

West Texas has reported 480 cases of measles, resulting in 56 hospitalizations, since the outbreak began in January. Infections have sickened 54 people in New Mexico and another 10 in Oklahoma.

Public health officials in the region are predicting that the outbreak will continue for a year, putting the area’s measles elimination status — which it earned in 2000 — at risk.

Measles is extremely contagious. It can linger in the air for up to two hours after someone infected has left a room and can spread through breath, coughs, or sneezes.

In most cases, measles symptoms—like rashes, high fevers, coughs, runny noses, and red eyes—will subside in a few weeks. But in rare cases, it can cause pneumonia, which is especially dangerous to children, the elderly, and individuals with compromised immune systems.

The disease can also cause brain swelling, which can cause blindness, deafness, and intellectual disabilities.

Kennedy has faced criticism for his handling of the outbreak, especially considering the HHS boss is a vocal vaccine skeptic. He has been broadly supportive of the measles vaccine but has also emphasized alternative and untested treatments to combat the disease, like using cod liver oil.

Doctors in Texas told the Times that Kennedy’s endorsement of alternative treatments has contributed to some patients waiting to seek medical care while also consuming toxic levels of vitamin A.

Experts are concerned that the Trump administration’s decision to pull funding from local health departments will also increase the likelihood of large, multi-state outbreaks. In an X post on Sunday, Kennedy said he would ensure that Texas health officials are supported in their battle to contain the measles outbreak.

On Sunday, Dr Peter Marks, who resigned from his position at the Food and Drug Administration where he oversaw the agency’s vaccine program, blamed Kennedy and his staff for the child’s death.

“This is the epitome of an absolute needless death,” Marks told the Associated Press on Sunday. “These kids should get vaccinated – that’s how you prevent people from dying of measles.”

He said that he warned the Senate that more measles-related deaths would occur if the Trump administration refused to take more aggressive action to curb the outbreak.

The Senate health committee has called Kennedy to testify on Thursday.

One of the members of that committee is Republican Senator Bill Cassidy, a doctor and a vaccine proponent. Though he joined his Republican colleagues in confirming Kennedy during his hearing, he has taken a stronger stance on the need for vaccinations than the HHS head.

On Sunday, Cassidy issued a statement saying that “everyone should be vaccinated.”

He said there was “no benefit to getting measles” and that “top health officials should say so unequivocally [before] another child dies.”

As of Friday, the U.S. has more than 600 measles cases this year, more than double the number of cases in all of 2024.

Lubbock’s public health director, Katherine Wells, told NBC News that the actual number of infected individuals is likely much higher than what has been reported, as many who are infected may not be getting tested for the illness.

She said that she and other health officials are begging families to have their children vaccinated against measles.

According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, just two doses of the MMR vaccine are needed for vaccination, and it is 97 percent effective. The MMR vaccine is safe and has been safely administered to children for decades.

Record cost of first class stamps ‘unfair’ say two thirds of Brits

Two-thirds of people think the increase in the price of a first-class stamp over the past five years is unfair, new data suggests.

The cost of a first-class stamp is set to reach £1.70 on Monday, more than double the 76p cost in 2020.

This latest 5p increase marks the eighth price hike in five years, a period during which Royal Mail has consistently failed to meet its annual delivery targets.

The rising costs are causing a significant financial strain for many, with one in three people surveyed admitting they would struggle to afford a book of eight first-class stamps, now priced at £13.60.

The poll, conducted for Citizens Advice, further highlights the impact on household budgets, with 16 per cent of respondents stating they would find it difficult to afford even a single first-class stamp at the new price.

With second-class stamps rising by 2p to 87p from Monday, almost a quarter of people (22 per cent) said they would struggle to buy a book of eight, now costing almost £7, with 9 per cent saying they would find it hard to afford a single second-class stamp.

However, the charity found that a third of those polled (32 per cent) had used a premium product, as opposed to a basic first or second-class stamp, to make sure an important letter or card arrived on time.

Regulator Ofcom is consulting on the Universal Service Obligation (USO) held by Royal Mail, which could see 2nd class letter deliveries reduced from six days a week to alternate weekdays.

Almost a third of people (29 per cent) said they would like Royal Mail to keep delivering 2nd class letters six days a week while 37 per cent said they could accept the reduction to alternate weekdays but only if the company met its delivery targets.

Ofcom is also considering relaxing Royal Mail’s annual delivery targets, which would mean 90 per cent of first-class mail would have to be delivered next-day, instead of the current 93 per cent target.

Under the plans, 95 per cent of second-class mail would need to be delivered within three days, instead of the current 98.5 per cent.

Some 86 per cent said they have received an important letter or document in the post in the last six months and half (50 per cent) have sent one.

Previous research by Citizens Advice suggests that an estimated 10.7 million people suffered delays to their post over Christmas, with 3.4 million of those missing vital letters for health appointments, bills, legal documents and fines.

Tom MacInnes, director of policy at Citizens Advice, said: “Royal Mail’s unfair price hikes are making post less affordable, and will hit low-income households and older people the hardest. People from these groups are more likely to be digitally excluded and rely on mail.

“These price increases are worsened by the fact people simply can’t rely on their first or second-class mail being delivered on time – proven by Royal Mail’s failure to meet any annual delivery targets for half a decade.

“Ofcom must act. The regulator is considering slashing deliveries and relaxing targets but these moves must go hand-in-hand with a curb on price increases. Otherwise, Royal Mail has no incentive, as a monopoly provider, to deliver the service consumers deserve.”

A Royal Mail spokeswoman said: “UK households on average spend less than £7 a year on stamps, and customers have the choice to post letters second class for just 87p nationwide or pay more if they want a next-day service.

“Royal Mail carefully considers prices and seeks to keep them as low as possible given the increasing cost of delivering mail.

“A complex and extensive network of trucks, planes and 85,000 posties is needed to deliver across the country for a single price.

“Ofcom has recognised that reform is urgently needed to protect the one-price-goes-anywhere universal service which requires Royal Mail to deliver letters to around 32 million UK addresses six days a week.”

Guardiola condemns Man Utd fans over ‘lack of class’ for Foden chants

Pep Guardiola condemned Manchester United supporters who made derogatory chants about Phil Foden’s mother, saying they lacked class and should be ashamed of themselves.

Manchester City were shocked and disgusted by the choruses during the Manchester derby, both the number of them and how many United fans joined in.

Manager Guardiola stressed the problem goes beyond United as he said it is a wider issue in world football.

He explained: “Lack of class. But it’s not United, it’s the people, you know? We are so exposed, people who are on the screen in world football – managers, owners, and football players especially. Honestly, I don’t understand the mind of the people involving the mum of Phil, it’s a lack of integrity, class, and they should be ashamed.”

United sources stressed they condemn abusive chants against all players.

Foden, who comes from Stockport in Greater Manchester, played the first 58 minutes of the 0-0 draw at Old Trafford on Sunday.

This is Trump’s Brexit disaster moment – with the same central lie

The Brexit drums are beating again. Donald Trump’s decision to lessen the UK’s tariffs versus the EU is being hailed as proof of Brexit success. You see, we were smart to put distance between ourselves and Europe, look at this dividend.

Not only does that analysis ignore the fact that back then this customs onslaught and with it, more favourable treatment for Britain, was not even the subject of speculation, it chooses to ignore the preceding years of harm.

It also pays no attention to the ongoing simple truth that most businesses would still prefer to see a Britain able to exploit the free movement of goods and people with its neighbours. They miss the EU and they’ve struggled to substitute the lost trade and skilled workers. They have also had to contend with stifling red tape and delays on top of their other burdens.

All of this seems to pass the Brexiteers by. As does the fact that the City, a linchpin in our economy, is wilting as bankers and traders decamp to desks in the EU. Their current preference? Milan.

Not London, not anymore. For five decades, the UK capital basked in its position as the geographic and economic springboard for companies seeking an entry into the EU. Those heady days have gone.

Still, Trump has come up, well, trumps. There is though another connection between his tariffs blast and Brexit. The entire Trump ethos is based on the past, on the idea that America can be made great again, that US manufacturing can be reborn.

It owes much to the boy in New York who grew up in a period when America really was booming and leading the world. They were American limousines that prowled the streets, American brands that sat atop the Manhattan towers. Then, those vehicles were replaced by cheaper, better models from Europe and Asia, from Germany and Japan – countries that had previously been wrecked by war and benefited from US financial largesse. Those sky-high domestic names became foreign. Bit by bit American might and majesty waned.

In real estate, the self-styled arch-negotiator, found himself losing out to overseas investors. They had the money, they called the shots. That rankled. The ‘Art of the Deal’ author saw America retreating and reduced.

Put like this, Trump’s credo has a familiar ring. On this side of the Pond, we were told over and over how Britain had also lost its power, its independence, that our historic, hard-won hegemony had been subjugated to Brussels. The argument had an imperial flavour. Leaving would make Britain great again.

Trump believes he has put America in charge of its own destiny. That was the declared aim of Brexit, to take back control.

He’s presented his move as reacting to a ‘National Emergency’. That also bears echoes. Anyone reading the adverts on the side of London buses during the Referendum campaign would be entitled to be baffled by the claims made. The UK, the nation that for years stood alone against Nazi tyranny was apparently now seeing cash draining away, taken by those very countries which it once so bravely defended. Compare that with the messages to Europe from Trump and JD Vance these past few months and you wonder if they’ve not been studying the Brexit playbook.

The NHS was not being starved of resources as the Europhobes claimed, but it did the trick. Today, Trump is proclaiming America has been ‘raped and pillaged’ by the EU.

Just as the UK economy was in good shape prior to Brexit, so too was that of the US before his tariffs attack. The Remainers did a poor job of fighting their corner; arguably, Trump’s predecessor was equally lacklustre at pointing up his achievements. The Brexiteers filled the vacuum; Trump marched in and stole the Democrats’ ground.

The then UK government displayed a weak grasp of place and workings of the economy – famously Dominic Raab did not know the vital role played by the Dover-Calais route. Trump and his supporters are showing a not dissimilar lack of knowledge in failing to understand the joined-up, inter-dependent nature of world trade, how those US products rely on imported parts and materials.

Prices rose in the UK post-Brexit and items were in short supply. America can expect the same.

There was the prospect here of British factories and workers stepping up. It has not happened. Trump is looking to his plants and citizens to replace what has been lost. We wait to see whether they do.

All because the principal architects have a sepia-tinted view of the past. They fail to realise that the life they remember and the one they read about, gloried in books and stories, had changed. Britain no longer ran anything but was an isolated island; other nations did not rush to do trade deals with us. The US no longer dominates; others may get along fine without it.

Maybe Britain will now, finally, reap that promised Brexit bonanza. Let us hope so, but it will have to go some distance to recovering what was lost. Americans may also soon find themselves scratching their heads and wondering what have we done? For tariffs read Brexit, and not in a positive way.

Far from being Brexit’s moment as its proponents insist, this could well be Trump’s ‘Brexit moment’ which has a different connotation altogether.

Island hopping in Dubrovnik: from nature to adventure, your itinerary

There’s more to the area around Dubrovnik than just the beautiful, UNESCO-heritage city which has been drawing crowds for decades. So while you shouldn’t miss the chance to explore its medieval City Walls, take in its Baroque cathedrals and churches, or simply stroll along the Stradun, consider an island-hopping adventure, which will bring you back to nature and make you forget urban life…for a while, at least. The Croatian archipelago lies along the eastern coast of the Adriatic Sea and has 1,244 natural formations, of which 78 are islands; so, where on earth to begin?

Start with Mljet, known as the ‘Green Island’ due to its dense forest. It takes around one hour and forty minutes to reach by ferry from Dubrovnik and also boasts Mediterranean landscapes, aquamarine seas, and soft, sandy shorelines. At its western end you’ll find 13,000 acres of tranquil National Park, criss-crossed with sheltered walking and cycling tracks, a ruggedly beautiful coastline, ancient ruins and saltwater lakes. Look out for the sprawling remains of a vast, 5th century Roman palace on the waterfront of nearby Polače village. If you enjoy hiking, one of the most popular trails leads to the summit of Montokuc, the highest point in the National Park, which will reward you with a stunning panorama of the island’s lush greenery, the Veliko Jezero and Malo Jezero lakes, and the Adriatic Sea that surrounds it.

However, if you prefer to explore on two wheels, there are several trails which take you through forests, along the lakeshore, and past beautiful viewpoints. These lakes (Velike means ‘Big Lake’ while Malo is ‘Small Lake’) are perfect for swimming and snorkelling – just dive right into their calm, crystal-clear waters. Alternatively, you can explore them by kayak, taking in the scenic forest and cliff views at your own pace; look out for the small islet of St Mary’s in the middle, home to an ancient Benedictine monastery.

Bigger, and a bit busier, is Korčula, whose unspoiled landscapes are reached by a two-hour ferry journey from Dubrovnik. The island got its name after the Ancient Greeks saw its dense oak and pine forests and called it Korkyra Melaina, meaning ‘Black Corfu’.

The medieval main town offers picturesque cobbled streets, crenellated walls and a 15th century Gothic Renaissance cathedral, which houses works by Venetian artist Tintoretto. Head to the top of its bell tower for magnificent views out to sea. Away from its quiet charm, you’ll also find unspoiled beaches and coves, and acres of vineyards and olive groves which produce the island’s excellent local olive oil and wine. Don’t miss the archaeological site of Vela Spila, on the west coast, a large, domed cavern which housed prehistoric communities over 18,000 years ago.

If it’s beaches you’re after, make a beeline for Lumbarda, a small fisherman’s village with the best – and only – sandy beaches on the island. Vela Pržina has year-round warm seas, while neighbouring Bilin Žal is popular with families thanks to its shallow water, ideal for paddling.

Korčula also has an archipelago of its own, called Škoji; hop on a water taxi from the old town’s marina to explore the idyllic isles of Badija, home to a 15th century Franciscan monastery and a herd of fallow deer, busier Stupe, home to buzzy beach clubs, restaurants and bars, and small, delightful Vrnik, with a pebbled beach perfect for paddling and sunbathing.

If all that feels like too much civilisation, head for Lastovo, a tiny paradise which is Croatia’s most remote inhabited island. With a population of less than a thousand people, this is where to visit when you want absolute quiet and seclusion. Here you’ll find thick forests, craggy coastline, and peaceful walking trails, where the only sounds you’ll hear are the waves rolling in, and occasional birdsong.

Together with its surrounding archipelago, it makes up the Lastovsko Otocje (Lastovo Nature Park), one of the best-preserved marine areas in the Adriatic. Think clifftop views, woodland hikes, and swimming around sea caves and coral reefs, all within a chain of small islands.

Whichever one you choose – and why not choose them all? – you can guarantee a truly magnificent holiday.

For more Dubrovnik travel inspiration and information, head to Visit Dubrovnik

Trump has made China appear a beacon of free trade

The Chinese Communist Party, apostle of free trade. In a strange new world, that was the strangest thing, as shares crashed in reaction to President Donald Trump’s opening salvo of tariffs in a global trade war.

“The market has spoken,” said the foreign ministry spokesperson, Guo Jiakun, writing in English on Facebook – which is, by the way, banned in China. No double standards there, then. Beijing can always keep a straight face when it matters.

Politically, the Chinese government can scarcely believe its luck. It has stepped forward as a voice of reason and stability in a chorus of discord to promote the false narrative that it has been a model of good behaviour since it joined the World Trade Organisation (WTO) on 11 December 2001, a date that seems destined to live in the textbooks as the peak of globalisation.

The Trump tariffs “are a typical act of unilateral bullying”, complained a spokesperson for China’s Commerce Ministry.

“This approach disregards the balance of interests achieved through years of multilateral trade negotiations and ignores the fact that the US has long gained substantial profits from international trade,” the spokesperson added.

The official news agency, Xinhua, said the tariffs were “a weapon to suppress China’s economy and trade” and told the United States to stop undermining “the legitimate development rights of the Chinese people”.

It would be a mistake to write off Chinese rhetoric. The regime of Xi Jinping is serious and its actions speak louder than words.

Clue: China has listed “legitimate development rights” as one of its “red lines” in dealing with the US. The term is code for the export-led economic model which has propelled the country to the rank of second largest economy on earth since it joined the WTO.

Understand that and you understand that for China this is existential. There could be no greater contrast to the whirlwind in Washington than the disciplined, efficiently executed responses announced by Beijing in nine statements outlining reprisals that went beyond mere numbers.

Xi himself did not deign to speak publicly, let alone do anything as vulgar as posting on social media in capital letters. The Chinese public would have thought it beneath his dignity.

Untroubled by such niceties, Trump swiftly posted to his followers online that “CHINA PLAYED IT WRONG, THEY PANICKED.”

With all due respect to the American president, that is exactly what they did not do. The Xi hit list is ominous because it is well-planned and researched. The “Red Emperor” rules a mandarin class of sophisticated operators who do nothing else but study China’s opponents using every intelligence tool at their disposal.

The easy part for China was to impose reciprocal 34 per cent tariffs on all American imports from 10 April. It also suspended six American firms from exporting to China, launched anti-dumping actions in the medical sector and targeted the US giant DuPont with a probe into potential monopoly practices.

The hard part showed just how thoroughly the Chinese had done their work. No penguin islands or weird mathematics here. They banned the export of “dual use” items, which could have military or civilian applications, to 16 US firms, all in the technology sector.

Their key move was to put export controls on seven rare earth elements “to safeguard national security”. It’s on the public record that some of these are vital to US weapons systems.

The list of rare earths included terbium, which is used to enhance the properties of specialised magnets used in guidance systems, satellites and radar. The magnets are integral to the state-of-the-art F-35 fighter, Predator drones, cruise missiles and nuclear submarines.

Then there’s dysprosium, a rare-earth element of which China controls nearly all the world’s supply. It is used to make high-grade magnets that work in super-heated conditions and is found in the newest semiconductors. Other rare earths on the list are vital to jet engine turbine blades. All will now require special export licences.

China and America are thus in a new kind of war over technology and artificial intelligence. Both Joe Biden and Trump tried to choke the supply of advanced semiconductors to Chinese manufacturers, while China is seeking to choke the supply of raw materials to America’s tech champions.

It’s not hard to see how dangerous this could get. The founder of free-trading modern Singapore, the late Lee Kuan Yew, once told me in an interview that “World War Two was caused because of empires and protectionism”.

He recalled that in the 1940s an oil embargo on Imperial Japan pushed its military leaders into war and he warned that if the West tried to isolate China economically “that is bound to lead to conflict”.

Lee was talking in the 1990s, when China stood on the threshold of globalisation. It joined the WTO only after hard-fought talks. But Charlene Barshevsky, who sealed the deal for the United States, later lamented that the Americans failed to use the WTO to punish Beijing when it broke the rules.

That created the belief that appeasement and elite inertia condemned the American working class to decline, the foundation story of Trump’s movement to Make America Great Again. So it is some irony that the Chinese have just filed a formal complaint about Trump’s tariffs – with the World Trade Organisation.

Michael Sheridan, longtime foreign correspondent and diplomatic editor of The Independent, is the author of The Red Emperor published by Headline Press at £25

Starmer is right to maintain dignity – and avoid upsetting Trump

The prime minister’s insistence that, in framing the UK’s response to the Trump tariffs, “We will always act in the national interest” was wise and reassuring. The mood at the moment is to “keep calm and carry on negotiating”, and if there is to be a response, it needs to be weighed, and to represent a fully informed choice. Hence the meeting of business leaders convened in Downing Street in the immediate aftermath of the US president’s announcements.

In the coming days, the full scale and nature of international retaliation will become clearer; so too will Donald Trump’s thinking. From his rambling presentation of the new tariff schedules in the White House Rose Garden, it is not obvious whether these punitive import taxes are designed to kickstart a more benign process involving a global relaxation of trade restrictions, or if they are part of a permanent policy shift aimed at restoring American manufacturing and providing trillions of dollars for the US Treasury. There is, in other words, no need for a rush to action.

Sir Keir Starmer is right to try to maintain the dignity of the nation, as well as to avoid upsetting the combustible Mr Trump, by limiting himself to vague remarks about having “levers at his disposal”. Businesses are being consulted on possible retaliatory actions, but that is all – at least for the time being.

However, with the US economy approximately seven times as large as that of the UK – and Britain still heavily reliant on America for its defence – those levers are not especially powerful ones. Unlike, say, China (in concert with Japan and South Korea), the European Union, Mexico or Canada, the UK lacks the necessary heft to inflict much material damage on American producers and exporters. Any effort to join in with an international assault on Mr Trump’s policy would risk attracting the imposition of even higher tariffs on UK exports, with the corresponding harm to British jobs and economic growth – and to European security and the Ukraine peace talks.

Far better, then, for the British government to keep a “cool head”, as Sir Keir suggests: not only does it suit the prime minister’s general demeanour, but it will help to preserve his unusually warm relationship with a man almost precisely his ideological opposite. Britain is set to watch how things develop, and will continue to engage with American officials on trade, investment, and wider economic relations. If an old and valued friend unexpectedly decides to have a spat, the most rational response is not to hit them back and escalate an argument into a violent rift.

Fanciful as it may seem, this crisis can be turned into an opportunity. As the business secretary, Jonathan Reynolds, told the Commons, a trade deal of some sort could be mutually beneficial, even if that isn’t immediately apparent to President Trump, who is more “zero sum” in his approach to life (as might be expected from his time in real estate).

Sir Keir says that talks are continuing. He should be encouraged by the fact that the UK is to be subjected only to the lower “baseline” tariff of 10 per cent, albeit with the higher charges on cars, steel and aluminium bringing the trade-weighted average up to 13 per cent. When the two leaders met in the White House, Mr Trump expressed the hope that a deal could be done. Despite intense activity, such an agreement couldn’t be reached in time to avoid the new tariffs, but the process – which has been in train since Theresa May launched post-Brexit talks with the US – has begun.

The outlines of such a deal can already be discerned. Negotiables could include a radical cut in the tariffs on US goods, such as cars and agricultural produce, and easier access for qualified, skilled workers through mutual recognition. The UK might have to compromise on its high standards of animal welfare, hygiene, and environmental protection, but that is a tough choice that could be made, in the expectation that consumers would exercise their right to choose.

More difficult, if not impossible, would be meeting the usual demands for improved – inflated – prices to be paid by the NHS to the US pharmaceutical giants. The American negotiators would also have to be properly briefed on the reality of free speech in the UK, which is protected as a human right by law, save for incitement to hatred against specified vulnerable groups.

The real question is whether the achievement of some sort of economic agreement with America – an outcome that would certainly yield benefits – is worth the sacrifices and concessions that are likely to be demanded by Mr Trump. That includes the effect that any such pact would have on our relationship with the EU, in light of the “reset” promised by Labour at the general election.

Even the possibility of such an agreement with the United States is being touted as a “Brexit bonus”, as is the “favourable” 10 per cent tariff. Needless to say, this is highly debatable. Were it still part of the EU, the UK would probably have been treated more harshly, but it would have had the full weight of the largest single market in the world behind it, along with better access to the EU markets that it has lost since Brexit.

As a member state, the UK would also have been able, ironically, to control its own laws on free speech, as well as to protect the NHS and farmers. In other words, a trade deal with America would have to be radically better than currently envisaged in order to make Brexit remotely worthwhile, even in purely financial terms.

And there remains the terrible truth that the US has downgraded its commitment to Nato, and “switched sides” to align with Russia on the matters of Ukraine and European security.

On balance, Sir Keir can best serve the British national interest by pursuing closer relations with Europe, while declining to enact futile retaliatory measures against America and salvaging as much as possible of the US-UK special relationship. The hope is that the Trump era might ultimately pass more smoothly. In any case, balancing and nurturing Britain’s most crucial relationships won’t be easy.