Jeremy Vine got bristly over Brexit today, as guest Samuel Kasumu insisted he had a “great example of why leaving the European Union was a good idea”. The heated exchange led to the host declaring: “I don’t care!”

A clearly dismayed Jeremy tackled the thorny topic of Donald Trump‘s pricey new import tariffs, quizzing: “Do you think we’ll rejoin the EU as a result of this, because we all need to stand together?” Samuel, a strategist who was a former Special Advisor to Prime Minister Boris Johnson, was unconvinced. “You can stand together without being an official part of a bloc, which is exactly what we’re doing with things like defences, Ukraine, etc,” he retorted.

Meanwhile, looking at the board detailing the steep tariffs doled out to European countries – for example, 61% for Switzerland, compared to just 10% for the UK, he argued: “I think this is a good example of why leaving the European Union

“The big economic superpowers in the future will be the likes of Nigeria, Bangladesh, Pakistan,” Samuel rhymed off, pointing to rapidly growing population sizes.

However, an incredulous sounding Jeremy exclaimed with what sounded like disbelief: “Nigeria?”

Tessa Dunlop then chimed in to challenge that Britain was too focused on America, quizzing: “Do you know what percentage American trade accounts for in the total global economy?”

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“Ooh, I don’t care really,” he retorted witheringly, before she dropped the bombshell: “13%.”

87% of the world is waiting to trade with free trade Great Britain,” she insisted.

However, Jeremy shot back: “We’re nine years on and we’re still waiting for these trade deals – we were told Liz Truss was doing them, [but] she couldn’t even win her seat back in Norfolk!”

Samuel suggested that PM Keir Starmer would make progress in establishing Britain’s reputation for free trade, but Jeremy had other ideas.

He quizzed: “How about we say to Trump on the quiet, ‘Look, shove the EU, we’re not in it. Come over, see the King, and then say, ‘I’ve decided to reduce Britain’s tariff to zero’ – and then the EU will be furious!”