BREXIT Britain could form a federation with Canada, Australia, and New Zealand to create "superpower" after fully cutting ties with the EU, a historian has claimed.

Historian Andrew Roberts described the federation of nations whose majority of people speak English could be a free trade zone with the free movement of people. The idea is based on the concept of the "CANZUK Union", this being the anacronym for Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom. The union could have a mutual defence organisation and combined military capabilities, the historian claimed.

The "CANZUK" idea has been strengthened by the united front that Canada, Australia and the UK have in the face of China's aggressive expansionism and the joint decision to cut Huawei out of 5G networks.

The "CANZUK" nations are already poised to make trade deals for a post-Brexit environment.

The "CANZUK" idea is not a new one, it traces its roots back to the early 20th-century when the British Empire was attempting to transition to a new federation of independent democracies.

According to Mr Roberts, the "CANZUK" union would be the fourth-largest economy in the world.

It would rank behind the US, China, then the EU.

The union would have a combined GDP of more than £4.6 trillion, he claimed.

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If the countries formed a federation it would have a seat on the UN Security Council, as the UK has a seat there currently.

Mr Andrews ranks the expansionism of China as being the greatest threat and the greatest reason for the "CANZUK" union to manifest.

He said: "There is no reason why the American taxpayer should pick up the bill of being the world’s policeman forever, and an intimate alliance with CANZUK would provide welcome relief.

"The cost of curbing and containing China’s global ambitions would become the historic role of not one but two superpowers, as it is clear that the EU has no interest in trying to stop Chinese hegemony in Asia.

"A strong, prosperous CANZUK Union would make the Anglosphere a force-multiplier in a more uncertain world."

Me Andrews adds that it is important for such a union to come into being in order to protest democracy worldwide as we enter a precarious future.

He said: "A second Anglospheric superpower would mean that the political values we share will be better defended and promoted, and a flourishing CANZUK would be a fine neighbour and trading and defence partner for the US.

"As the world order undergoes its most profound transition since the end of the Cold War, it is an idea whose moment has arrived."