AS trade negotiations between the European Union (EU) and the United Kingdom (UK) come to a head this month, one of the ironies is that events nearly 5,000 km away in Washington may be as important as those in Brussels and London in influencing final outcomes of this chapter of the Brexit saga.

For, as Boris Johnson makes ultimate decisions as to whether to risk a no-deal outcome to the talks, or double-down on an agreement, he is anxiously awaiting the US presidential election result. If Donald Trump wins against the odds, the UK prime minister may well interpret that as vindication that - with Brexit at least - he is on the "right side of history".

For Mr Trump, who won power the same year as the 2016 Brexit referendum, has been perhaps the most outspoken world leader in favour of the UK's departure from the EU. If the mercurial president wins a second term, Mr Johnson is more likely to feel emboldened to plump for no-deal with the EU, not least as a US-UK trade agreement may become a early priority of a re-elected Trump team.