Theresa May to meet President Recep Erdogan to plot post-Brexit free trade deal

THERESA May will today start drawing up a free trade deal with Turkey in a fresh Brexit boost.

The PM will agree to set up a working group with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on her first visit to Ankara since taking power.

That will authorise officials to start mapping out how a deal would work once the UK leaves the EU.

It will be the 13th working group ministers have set up with other countries since June’s referendum. The leaders will also discuss co-operation over security, as well as fighting IS in Syria and Iraq.

But Mrs May faces attacks from civil rights campaigners for refusing to tackle the president head-on over human rights abuses.

He has jailed thousands, including journalists, in a crackdown after a failed coup against him last year.

Asked if the PM would raise the abuses, a spokeswoman at No10 would say only: “A number of issues will come up in the talks. I’m not aware of any intention to specifically raise those.

“President Erdogan is an important ally. The PM believes engagement with him is important, especially on Syria and counter-terrorism.”

Kirsty Brimelow QC, who chairs the Bar Human Rights Committee, said: “Turkey’s massive and disproportionate response to the attempted coup is now itself subverting the democratic values its government should be seeking to uphold.”

The PM is flying to Turkey from her US talks with Donald Trump.