Boris Johnson flies to New York to tighten transatlantic ties after strained summer

PM will hope signing of this week's Aukus deal will help the allies move on from the chaos of Kabul

Boris Johnson will fly to New York this weekend for his first foreign trip since the Covid pandemic, hoping to cement his relationship with the US president, Joe Biden, after a rocky summer marred by the chaotic Kabul airlift.

Two years ago, when Johnson made his first foreign trip as prime minister to the Biarritz G7 summit, the hope was that Donald Trump's enthusiasm for the man he called Britain Trump" would help smooth the way for a rapid post-Brexit trade deal with the US.