The UK is telling ministers to cozy up to the Biden camp, as Boris Johnson is 'writing off Trump' in the upcoming US election

• The UK has told government ministers to woo the Biden campaign, fearing that Trump is set to lose the US election, according to The Sunday Times.
• "They're writing off Trump in No 10 now," a senior Conservative Party aide told the newspaper.
• In recent weeks, Dominic Raab, the foreign secretary, met with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Senator Chris Coons, and Congressman Richard Neal.
• Karen Pierce, the UK's ambassador to the US, has been warming up Tony Blinken and Jake Sullivan, two of Biden's top foreign policy advisors, the paper said.
• Most polls show Biden with a narrow lead over Trump in the run-up to the November 3 election.

Boris Johnson's government has told ministers to forge ties with the Joe Biden campaign, sensing that Donald Trump is likely to lose the US election, according to The Sunday Times.

"They're writing off Trump in No 10 (the prime minister's official residency) now," a senior Conservative Party aide told the newspaper.

The paper said that Johnson and his team viewed a series of private polls indicating that Biden had a 70% chance of winning on November 3.

With 23 days to go, most public polls suggest that Biden does have a lead over Trump.

As a result, UK's top officials have in recent weeks moved to win over Biden allies, the Sunday Times said.

Dominic Raab, the UK foreign secretary, met with Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, Senator Chris Coons, and Congressman Richard Neal. Karen Pierce, the UK's ambassador to the US, has been warming up two top foreign policy advisors to the Biden campaign: Tony Blinken and Jake Sullivan.

The news follows reports, in July and August, which detailed how Johnson was desperate for Trump to lose the election and that his government had already reached out to Democratic Party officials to secure support for a post-Brexit trade deal.

Johnson's relationship with Biden is frosty

Biden has indicated that if he wins the presidency, he may prioritize a trade deal with the EU, rather than one between the UK and US.

Biden has criticized the UK's conduct during negotiations with the EU, saying that if Johnson's government chooses to break a deal with the EU over Northern Ireland, a US-UK trade deal would not be feasible.

The UK is set to end the transition period after leaving the EU on January 1, 2021, and is scrambling to sign bilateral trade deals.

Biden has also taken issue with Johnson over his characterization of President Barack Obama.

While Johnson has clashed with Trump on several issues, the pair are friendly and deemed close allies.

A recent YouGov poll found that 61% of Britons said they wanted Biden to win the November 3 election, while 13% said they were backing Trump.