Explosive moment top economist delivers seven-word blow to Donald Trump live on BBC

American President Donald Trump has been issued a blistering seven-word blow about his US-UK trade deal. Appearing on the BBC's Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg, economist Joseph Stiglitz was asked for his opinion on the new plans after she spotted him "making a face" when Louis Mosely, CEO of Palantir UK, had been enthusing about it.

The Nobel prize-winning economist noted: "I would have strong reservations on a number of grounds. First, it undermines one of the basic long-standing principles of the rule of law in international trade, which is what's called the Most Favoured Nation (MFN) principle. You give the same treatment to everybody. What Trump has been trying to do is bargain here, bargain there [and] destroy what has been created over 80 years after World War Two and if you were complicitous in this undermining of the international rule, I wouldn't be proud of that."

Keen to hear more from Stiglitz, Laura asked: "Did Keir Starmer have one pulled over on him? Was the UK taken for a ride?" To which he answered: "I think he was trying to do the best he could in a particular frame of mind where he's going off on his own. The question is is that the best frame of mind? My own view is that bargaining needs to be done in strength.

"If you're a strong economy like China, you can bargain strongly. UK is not that big if you pay a joint EU in bargaining and you could have done it, even though you're outside of the EU you can get together without anybody else bargaining then you would have been bargaining with strength. That's exactly what Trump wanted. Piece by piece, take the weakest country first, get that, then go after the next country. It is, as I say a strategy where he hopes to win. And finally let me say, Trump doesn't understand economics, doesn't understand trade. Steel, cars, a 20% free economy is about services."

Last week, Donald Trump declared that the US had struck a “comprehensive” trade agreement with Britain. But days on and there seem to be many unanswered questions.

Industries have been celebrating some immediate wins as the deal removes tariffs on UK steel and aluminium imports to the US, and cuts the levy on cars from 27.5% to 10%. This offers British luxury carmakers like Jaguar Land Rover a reprieve.

Britain’s medicines industry is one of its most successful but Mr Trump’s threats to impose tariffs on drugs coming into the US which risks British exports, worth almost £9 billion.

The Prime Minister said that in future, the UK will have “preferential treatment” when it comes to pharmaceuticals.

Experts are unsure whether that means no tariffs, a lower rate or more limited concessions, with the actual text of the deal saying only that the two sides “intend to promptly negotiate significantly preferential treatment outcomes on pharmaceuticals”.