It’s likely that should Andy Burnham become UK Prime Minister he will try to align, against the wishes of the British people, more closely to the European Union. That will mean having to follow the same policies as Brussels dictates and if the social media post by US President Donald Trump is to be believed, exposing Britain to the same sanctions as he’s likely to put the EU nations under.

It certainly looks like a shot across Burnham’s bows especially the part about ‘even with any nation with which there is a trade deal’.

To be frank if Trump perceives that the Digital Services Tax is an unnecessary hindrance on US tech companies then he’s within his rights to take action to protect US companies. Do I want to see British tech companies or other companies hammered in this way, of course I don’t, I want free and frictionless trade with the Americans, it’s good for us and sometimes good for Americans. However it’s Europe’s political elite that have created this situation not the American tech companies or America itself.

This threat by Mr Trump should be used by the people of Britain as a political cudgel against Burnham and leverage to ensure that the UK has nothing to do with Brussels’s digital taxation plans.