Kemi Badenoch urged Labour to "pick up where we left off" on negotiating a US trade deal. The Conservative leader said the previous Tory government had six rounds of negotiations with America in 2020 during an interview on the BBC's Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg programme.

She was pressed by host Laura Kuenssberg on her previous comments that the deal was "oven ready". Ms Kuenssberg said: "You're saying this deal was oven ready..."

Mrs Badenoch replied: "What I've said was we had been negotiating. We had six rounds of negotiations and we had gone a considerable amount of the way. I have said pick up where we left off, not pick up a deal that was done."

The presenter added: "You said in November an oven ready deal negotiated by the last government could be dusted down, you said that again recently in the Commons.

"I just want to be clear, are you saying there was a deal and that's the deal that should be signed now, or are you saying you'd like the Government to get on with it using that as a basis?"

Mrs Badenoch said: "I would like the Government to pick up where we left off.

"We had six rounds of negotiations where there were some decisions that were concluded, and they can pick that up and take it.

"But the most important thing is removing tariffs. The tariffs are going to be destructive for our businesses."

It comes as US President Donald Trump earlier this week unveiled sweeping global tariffs on imports to America, including a 10% levy on the UK.