Theresa May doesn’t want Trump hand-holding and Brexit failure to be her legacy as she mocks Truss and Johnson

Theresa May has joked that she risks going down in history as the prime minister who held hands with Donald Trump.

The former PM, who is leaving parliament at this year’s general election, said she is not sure “whether I am going to be known as the prime minister who did not get Brexit through… or the prime minister who Donald Trump held hands with”.

Ms May was asked at a gathering of journalists about the potential future relationship between Sir Keir Starmer or Rishi Sunak and Mr Trump if he is re-elected in November.

The Maidenhead MP replied that “all I can say is I hope he doesn’t hold their hand”.

Addressing the parliamentary press gallery, Ms May aimed barbs at her successors Boris Johnson and Liz Truss.

Speaking about her book, The Abuse of Power, Ms May said: “It is interesting to notice where political titles are categorised, where they are shelved in the bookshops.”

She said a political journalist’s book about her time negotiating a Brexit deal with the European Union should have been filed under “horror or fiction… I was there”.

“Liz Truss’ 10 Years to Save the West… Well, given Liz’s record, perhaps it should be 10 Days to Save the West… sci-fi/fantasy,” she added.

And, referencing another prime minister’s personal life, Ms May said: “And of course we are all waiting for the memoirs of Boris Johnson, which will undoubtedly be shelved under ‘current affairs’.”

Also in her speech, Ms May insisted this year’s general election is not a foregone conclusion for Rishi Sunak.

The ex-PM said: “At the doors that I knock on, Keir Starmer is not Tony Blair, the view on those doorsteps is different to the feel pre-1997.

“And winning the number of seats they need to win is a tough call, they’ve got to put a lot of work