The Prime Minister was asked why she did not meet Donald Trump in Osaka and if there was anything left of the special relationship. But Mrs May pointed out that she had held a discussion with the US President at the summit. And she added they had “plenty of opportunity” to speak during his state visit to Britain earlier this month.
The Prime Minister said: “I am a bit surprised that you should ask about a longer meeting with President Trump, as you might not have noticed he actually made a state visit to the UK only a couple of weeks or so ago and so I had plenty of opportunity at that time to sit down with President Trump and to speak to him and we do continue to speak on a regular basis.”
Mrs May was also grilled on whether Tory members now had more in common with Nigel Farage and the Brexit Party.
She said: “I believe that Conservative Party members, as with the majority of the public in the UK, want us to deliver on Brexit.
“I believe they want us to deliver not just what that means in terms of leaving the EU but the brighter future that we believe the UK can have outside of the EU.
“That is what I was working on, it is what my successor will work on.”
Quizzed on how important it is to the nation’s future as a global player for the UK to leave the bloc with a good deal, Mrs May said: “I have always said that I think it is best for the United Kingdom for us to leave in an orderly way, and that means leaving with a good deal.
“I believe that we negotiated a good deal, but Parliament has not come to a majority supporting that deal – it will be up to my successor to find a way of delivering on the vote of the British people and doing that in a way that is in the national interest.”
On whether the Tories should embrace the populism seen on both sides of the Atlantic and if the real danger to the party was the resurgent Lib Dems, Mrs May said: “I think what’s important for the Conservative party is that we continue as a party and as a Government in delivering on the values that have always underpinned what we as Conservatives believe in.”
The Prime Minister took a tough stance on Russia, telling the press conference that she had warned Vladimir Putin “there can only be a normalisation of our bilateral relationship if Russia stops the pattern of irresponsible activity that threatens the UK and its allies, such as the use of a deadly nerve agent on the streets of Salisbury”.
She added: “We remain open to a different relationship, but for that to happen the Russian government must choose a different path.”
The G20 summit is an annual meeting of world leaders from the countries with the largest and fastest-growing economies.
Leaders from 19 countries and the European Union meet to discuss issues of the day in a bid to coordinate their plans.
There are also many talks which take place on the side-lines of the summit.