The United States has urged Prime Minister Theresa May and the Government to resolve the impasse over Brexit in order to push ahead with a trade deal with the UK.
President Donald Trump is “eager” to strike a trade deal with the UK after it leaves the European Union, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on a visit to the Foreign Office.
His comments came just weeks before Mr Trump's state visit to the UK, a trip the president was "very much looking forward to", according to Mr Pompeo.
The US Secretary of State held talks in Downing Street with the Prime Minister before a joint press conference with Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt.
Speaking in the Foreign Office, Mr Pompeo said: "Brexit has obviously been a hot topic here.
"I reiterated to the Prime Minister as well as to Foreign Secretary Hunt that it is the United Kingdom's sovereign, democratic choice on how it will proceed, but also that no matter what happens the United States will continue our strong relationship with both the UK and the EU.
"Our great hope is that Brexit can be resolved soon because President Trump is eager to strike a bilateral trade agreement that expands on our number one trade relationship."
He added: "President Trump is very much looking forward to his visit here next month and commemorating D-Day with our great allies."
Mr Trump has previously expressed surprise about the protracted nature of the Brexit process.
"I'm surprised at how badly it's all gone from the standpoint of a negotiation," he said in March.
Mr Pompeo's comments came after it was revealed yesterday that cross-party Brexit talks had again failed to reach an agreement.
Shadow business secretary Rebecca Long-Bailey confirmed negotiations on a new deal that could win a parliamentary majority have still to bear fruit.
"Nothing has been agreed yet," she said after a three-hour meeting, which she labelled "very robust".
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Ms Long-Bailey said there had been no movement towards a customs union, temporary or otherwise, and would only say another referendum was "one of many options"
She said: "We haven't had any movement or agreement on a customs union, certainly not today, but we will see what the rest of the week holds.
"Our policy position has not changed since the last Labour conference, where a public vote was one of many options on the table, certainly to avoid a Tory deal, a bad Tory Brexit or a no-deal situation.
"Certainly we've been exploring the issue of a confirmatory vote in these discussions, but as yet nothing has been agreed."
Cross-party talks continued on Wednesday, Downing Street confirmed.
