Prime Minister to meet Donald Trump in Washington next week

Sir Keir Starmer will meet US President Donald Trump next week, No 10 has confirmed.

A Downing Street spokesman said the Prime Minister will seek to “deepen the special relationship” on his first visit to Washington, DC since Mr Trump’s inauguration.

Asked last week about meeting Sir Keir, Mr Trump said the two were “going to have a friendly meeting, very good”.

The Government has had mixed results in their efforts to garner favour with the new US administration.

Mr Trump’s departure from Western allies on its stance on Ukraine and Nato, the looming threat of trade tariffs and the UK’s deal to relinquish sovereignty over the Chagos Islands have presented potential tensions.

The Prime Minister and Foreign Secretary David Lammy have reiterated the resilience of the UK-US “special relationship”.

Criticism

At last week’s Munich security conference, US Vice-President JD Vance criticised the UK over a legal case in which a former serviceman who silently prayed outside an abortion clinic was convicted of breaching the safe zone around the centre.

In a wider attack on what he suggested is a shift away from democratic values across Europe, Mr Vance claimed the “basic liberties of religious Britons, in particular” are under threat.

Asked about comments made by Mr Vance, the Prime Minister’s spokesman said: “There’s going to be a wide range of issues that we’ll be working with the new US administration on.

“The Prime Minister looks forward to meeting President Trump shortly to discuss how we can deepen the special relationship across trade and investment, security.”

He added: “The Prime Minister will travel to Washington, DC next week.”

Scepticism

Sir Keir and Mr Trump previously met at Trump Tower in New York City ahead of the US election, with the US president describing the Prime Minister as a “very nice guy”.

On Ukraine, Sir Keir has said the US wants to achieve “lasting peace” which “aligns precisely” with the UK and EU position.

Mr Trump’s allies have expressed scepticism over the UK’s proposed deal with Mauritius, which would hand over sovereignty of the Chagos Islands, but the Government states the deal is necessary to secure the future of the Diego Garcia military base which is used by the US.

Mr Trump has also shown his willingness to impose high tariffs on close trading partners such as Canada and Mexico but Chancellor Rachel Reeves is among the ministers who have said they can minimise the impacts of tariffs on the UK by arguing Britain does not have a trade deficit with the US.