Starmer to host Trump for final day of second state visit to Britain
Sir Keir Starmer will host Donald Trump at his grace and favour country home on Thursday, as the Prime Minister continues his campaign to woo the US president during his unprecedented second state visit to Britain.
The Prime Minister is hoping to keep the focus of the visit on an influx of American investment into the UK, all while both his Government and the Trump administration are plagued by scandals related to the paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein.
Overnight, Sir Keir announced the prospect of some £150 billion flowing into the UK from big US companies such as Blackstone and Palantir.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves will host a business reception in Downing Street for bosses at top US and UK financial firms, including BlackRock, Barclays and Blackstone in a bid to highlight transatlantic econonomic cooperation.
As Sir Keir and Mr Trump meet at Chequers, the Prime Minister’s estate in Buckinghamshire, they also plan to sign a technology prosperity deal, touted as offering major investment by US tech firms in Britain, that will help to develop its AI capabilities.
The Prime Minister will present the US leader with a bespoke ministerial red box styled to take back to the White House, as well as showing him items from the Churchill archives.
The two men will also meet investors including bosses from GSK, Microsoft and Rolls-Royce while Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio will also have face-to-face talks at Chequers.
Deal
Questions have, however, begun to arise over what American companies may want in return, with suggestions a tax on digital services – which largely impacts on US companies – could be reduced or eliminated.
Hopes that a deal aimed at reducing steel tariffs on British imports to the US could be hammered out during the state visit, meanwhile, appear to have fallen by the wayside, media reports have suggested.
Thursday afternoon’s press conference with the two leaders could prove to be the moment of most jeopardy for ensuring the state visit concludes smoothly, as questions about Lord Peter Mandelson and Mr Trump’s links to the late Epstein will likely arise.
Differences of opinion over the situation in the Middle East may also prove difficult for the two men.
Sir Keir has delayed his plans to recognise a Palestinian state until after Mr Trump’s visit concludes to avoid open disagreement over the matter, the Times reported.
State banquet
On Wednesday evening, Mr Trump was the guest of honour at a lavish state banquet in Windsor Castle, hosted by the King.
There he paid a heartfelt tribute to America’s relationship with the UK, saying the word “special does not begin to do it justice”, and claimed the nations were “two notes in one chord”.
Among those at the banquet were the chiefs of major American firms, including big names from the tech world Sam Altman of OpenAI, Tim Cook of Apple, and Jensen Huang, the founder of Nvidia.
Media mogul Rupert Murdoch was also a guest, despite being sued by the US president over a report linking him to Epstein.
On Wednesday, thousands marched through London in protest against the US president’s state visit.
YouGov polling suggests nearly half of the British population (45%) believe it was wrong to invite Mr Trump for the visit, while 30% think it was right to do so.
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Its sickening watching him toadying up to that mad orange clown . And these jobs hes after will all be bound for England. And how much did this whole circus cost the taxpayer?
The investment will benefit the US. Thats how Trump and the gop operate. We are now a vassal state.
One one the left prosecuted the type that is on the right. The one on the right has 30+ felonies and adjudicated rapist and self confessed grabber of women and very probably has a lot of entries in the Epstein files but he is running scared of that.
How far have we fallen that Mandleson is rightly ejected from his job but another besty of Epstein gets the royal treatment.
Now, how scared are the press on losing their Whitehouse press passes.
An investment in UK from the pro Israeli spying software company Palantir would mean access to British citizen’s private affairs for Trump’s fascist ICE etc and further loss of our freedom. No bloody thankyou!
I cannot understand why Starmer is so desperate to grovel to Trump that he will cripple Britain by selling out our services to American big tech. Trump himself is reliant on these oligarchs who have been allowed to access US government records and other information for their own benefit. In the UK, Palantir is desperate to expand its access to NHS records to share with “US big Pharma” as part of the privatisation of the health service. We do not want a US style service for the rich here. In addition, there has been a long running campaign US by… Read more »
Checkers is a draughty old place…
Chequers!!!
The whole thing is an absolute embarrassment and shows how weak , pathetic and completely hypocritical UK plc really is. I was literally laughing whilst watching a bit of it and even the weather joined in with the cringeworthy misery of it all
I would like to laugh, but it s far more of a tragedy unfolding.
Just when you thought that the British empire couldn’t be more of an embarrassment.
Pathetic.
Other than Harold Wilson who refused LBJ’s request to send British troops to Vietnam the Special relationship only means when the US President coughs the British PM catches a cold.
Even Henry Kissenger once said to be an Enemy of the USA is dangerous but to be a friend of the USA is Fatal.
The King has broken ties with his son Andrew over his connections to Epstein but will let Trump into his home and treat him to a lavish feast. Surely if we’re going to hang onto traditions Trump should now be languishing in the Tower of London.