Trump praises Starmer’s ‘very hard’ lobbying as he again suggests UK will be exempt from US tariffs
Q: Did the PM persuade you not to put tariffs on the UK?
Trump replies:
He tried. He was working hard. I’ll tell you that he earned whatever the hell they pay him over there, but he tried.
I think there’s a very good chance that, in the case of these two great friendly countries, I think we could very well end up with a real trade deal where the tariffs wouldn’t be necessary. We’ll see.
He says Starmer was “working hard” on this over lunch.
In all fairness, in all seriousness, I think we have a very good chance at arriving at a very good deal.
Key events
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Trump praises Starmer’s ‘very hard’ lobbying as he again suggests UK will be exempt from US tariffs
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Trump declines to say he will apologise to Zelenskyy for calling him dictator
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Trump says he supports Nato’s article 5
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Trump claims UK and US will do trade deal ‘rather quickly’
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Starmer claims Trump’s Canada comments have not caused split with UK
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Trump claims UK and US will have ‘great trade agreement, one way or another’
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Trump praises Starmer as ‘very tough negotiator’
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Starmer hits back at JD Vance over his attack on UK’s commitment to freedom of speech
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‘What does that mean?’ – Trump appears not to know what Aukus pact is
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Trump refuses to give firm US military ‘backstop’ commitment to Ukraine peace deal, saying Putin will keep his word
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Starmer corrects Trump when he wrongly says Ukraine will repay Europe for help it’s getting to fight Russia
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Trump hints UK might avoid sanctions he plans for EU, saying it’s ‘very different place’ where he has investments
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Trump declines to repeat his claim Zelenskyy’s a dictator, joking ‘Did I say that?’
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Trump says minerals deal would work as ‘backstop’ because Russia would not attack Ukraine if US workers based there
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King invites Trump to Scotland ahead of state visit – extracts from his letter
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Trump claims he does not know anything about Andrew Tate and his brother being allowed to fly to US
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Trump claims minerals deal could be seen as ‘backstop’ for Ukraine
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Trump says he is ‘inclined’ to back UK deal to give sovereignty of Chagos Islands to Mauritius
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Starmer invites Trump to UK for a state visit
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Trump says he expects to be ‘getting along’ with Starmer on all topics they discuss
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Trump praises Starmer as ‘special man’ as they meet in Oval Office
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Trump says he is confident about getting Ukraine peace deal as he welcomes Starmer at White House
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Steve Reed says there’s no need for Starmer to fact check Trump in public as Macron did when they meet
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Lib Dems urge Starmer to tell Trump Andrew Tate and his brother should not be allowed to evade justice
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Visa numbers for travel to UK down by third in 2024, figures show
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UK is ‘hostile environment’ for Afghans amid rise in refusal of asylum claims, lawyer says
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Former Labour Scottish first minister Jack McConnell urges Starmer to reverse aid cuts
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Number of children in temporary accommodation in England hits record high, figures show
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Rough sleeping in England in late 2024 up 20% on figure for previous year, survey says
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Tories criticise government for not allowing Gatwick expansion to go ahead immediately
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Trump administration ‘very pleased’ about increase in UK defence spending, official says
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Almost 1m young people not in education, employment or training, figures show
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Putin says his talks with Trump giving grounds for hope, but warns about Western elites undermining them
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Treasury minister Darren Jones confirms proposals to limit impact of two-child benefit cap being considered
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Campaigners condemn Gatwick runway decision, with Green party saying it shows Labour ‘trashing its climate credentials’
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Mike Amesbury MP has 10 week jail sentence for assault suspended, following appeal
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Ban pornography depicting strangulation, review urges UK ministers
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No 10 says Starmer and Trump will discuss further tech and AI partnership at White House meeting
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Asylum applications reached 108,000 in 2024, highest level for more than 20 years, figures show
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EU’s von der Leyen to travel to London on Sunday for Ukraine security summit
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Lammy confirms Trump has power to veto Chagos Islands deal
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Ukraine’s Zelenskyy to visit Ireland today en route to US
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Minister ‘sets path’ to allow Gatwick to open second runway
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Starmer says he wants UK and US to have ‘new partnership’
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Trump will be ‘very consequential president’, Mandelson says
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Donald Trump says US won’t give Ukraine security guarantee ‘beyond very much’ ahead of meeting with Keir Starmer
Q: Do you think President Putin is a man who keeps his word (which is what Trump thinks – see 8.06pm)?
Starmer says his views on Putin are “pretty well rehearsed and pretty well known”.
He goes on:
My concern is that if there’s a deal, and I hope there is a deal, that it must be a lasting deal, that it’s not a temporary measure.
And that is why I think it’s really important that Putin knows tha this deal, a historic deal which I very much hope comes about, is … a lasting deal, and that we’re able to deal with any inclination he has to go again or go further.
Trump ends the press conference saying:
I think we’ll have two deals. I think we’ll have a deal on ending the war, and I think we’re going to end up with a great trade deal with you.
Trump praises Starmer’s ‘very hard’ lobbying as he again suggests UK will be exempt from US tariffs
Q: Did the PM persuade you not to put tariffs on the UK?
Trump replies:
He tried. He was working hard. I’ll tell you that he earned whatever the hell they pay him over there, but he tried.
I think there’s a very good chance that, in the case of these two great friendly countries, I think we could very well end up with a real trade deal where the tariffs wouldn’t be necessary. We’ll see.
He says Starmer was “working hard” on this over lunch.
In all fairness, in all seriousness, I think we have a very good chance at arriving at a very good deal.
Trump declines to say he will apologise to Zelenskyy for calling him dictator
Q: Will you apologise to President Zelenskyy for calling him a dictator?
Trump says he is going to have a good meeting with Zelenskyy tomorrow. He says he has a lot of respect for him.
Q: Is there an assurance that the US would give military backing to a peace deal for Ukraine?
Starmer says the UK has increased defence spending. If there is a deal for Ukraine, it must be a deal “that sticks”, he says.
He says he will be hosting 18 European countries in London at the weekend to discuss this.
He says President Trump said this morning that the US and the UK support each other.
You heard from the president this morning that, as historically has always been the case, we have each other’s backs.
And today we’ve been talking about the deal, how that will be a lasting deal, and coming out of this, our teams will now be talking in detail about us.
Starmer is referring to the exchanges at 8.06pm. It was Starmer himself who talked about the UK and the US always helping each other out. Trump did not contradict him; but mostly he seemed to be saying the UK did not need military help.
Trump says he supports Nato’s article 5
Q: Do you support Nato’s article 5?
Trump replies:
I support it. I don’t think we’re going to have any reason for it. I think we’re going to have a very successful peace, and I think it’s going to be a long, lasting peace.
Article 5 is the clause saying Nato allies should come to each other’s aid if they are attacked.
Léonie Chao-Fong
Donald Trump repeated his false claim that European aid to Ukraine will all be repaid.
The facts: French president Emmanuel Macron fact-checked Trump’s claim during their meeting at the White House earlier this week.
“No, in fact, to be frank, we paid,” Macron said on Monday, explaining that his country had provided aid in the form of grants, loans and loan guarantees. “We provided real money, to be clear.”
Keir Starmer also tried to correct the US president’s claim earlier today.
“Quite a bit of ours was gifted,” Starmer told Trump in the Oval Office. “There were some loans, but mainly it was gifted actually.”
Q: Do you have confidence in the BBC in the light of the latest revelations about the Gaza documentary?
Starmer says the culture secretary has spoken to the BBC about this.
Trump claims UK and US will do trade deal ‘rather quickly’
Q: Will there be a trade deal with the UK?
Trump says:
We’ve had great discussions on trade and I think we’re going to have a deal done rather quickly. As quickly as it can be done. We’re going to have something, I think, rather quickly.
Starmer claims Trump’s Canada comments have not caused split with UK
Q: Did you discuss Trump’s plan to annex Canada? And what does the king make of that?
Starmer says he has a good, productive meeting with Trump.
On Canada, he accuses the questioner of trying to find “a divide between us that does not exist”.
They are now taking questions.
The first is about tariffs, and Trump defends his plan to impose them, rejecting the argument that consumers will pay more.
Keir Starmer is speaking now.
He says he welcomes Trump’s commitment to peace.
But he says it “can’t be peace that rewards the aggressor or that gives encouragement to regimes like Iran”.
He says they discussed a plan for a peace deal that would be “backed by strength, to stop Putin coming back for more”.
He says Trump is right to say Europe needs to spend more on defence. He says he is “all in”, with the UK boosting its defence spending.
Turning to trade, he says the links between the US and the UK are strong. He mentions plans for more tech cooperation briefed by No 10 in advance. (See 11.45am.)
And he finally ends by saying how pleased he is that Trump has accepted the invitation to another state visit.
