Starmer, Trump to discuss foreign affairs, investment after pomp royal welcome

Prime Minister Keir Starmer Thursday welcomed Donald Trump to his country home of Chequers for talks on difficult issues including trade, Ukraine and Gaza after the US president hailed his second state visit to the UK as the “highest honor.”

After a day of pomp and ceremony in which Trump rode in a carriage with King Charles and feasted at a state banquet, the US president and Starmer will celebrate the unveiling of a 150-billion-pound ($205 billion) package of US investment into Britain.

The deals, covering areas such as technology, energy and life sciences, will offer a renewal of the so-called ‘special relationship’ between the two nations, something Starmer has worked hard to cultivate since Trump became leader in January.

Epstein ties and ‘free speech’ differences

The meeting is not without perils. Later on Thursday, the two leaders will hold a press conference, when journalists could quiz both over the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

Starmer was forced to sack Peter Mandelson as ambassador to the US last week after his close ties with Epstein were documented and Trump’s relationship with the late financier has also come under scrutiny.

“For Starmer, he is having a difficult domestic time and he needs a positive international narrative and to bring Trump on board on key issues,” said Evie Aspinall, director of the British Foreign Policy Group think tank.

Trump would want to show there was value in close relations with Starmer, she said. “For both sides, they realize there is a lot to be gained.”

Trump, speaking alongside Charles at Windsor Castle, the oldest and largest inhabited castle in the world, described his visit as “truly one of the highest honors of my life”.

Starmer hopes this sentiment will continue into Thursday and deter the US leader from straying into more sensitive areas, such as Britain’s online safety laws and position on Israel.

Speaking at Wednesday’s banquet, Trump said Britain had “laid the foundations of law, liberty, free speech and individual rights” under its empire and “must continue to stand for the values and the people of the English-speaking world”.

A few hours later, he cheered the suspension of late-night host Jimmy Kimmel over comments made about the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk. Trump has pressured broadcasters to stop airing content he finds objectionable.

Starmer expected to champion deal

Instead, Starmer will want to champion the deals secured between the two countries, including a new technology pact with companies from Microsoft to Nvidia, Google and OpenAI pledging 31 billion pounds ($42 billion) in investments over the next few years, in AI, quantum computing and civil nuclear energy.

The British leader appears to have resigned himself to not getting any further reduction on steel and aluminum tariffs, according to comments from an official playing down the prospect. But Starmer can say Britain is increasingly a destination for US investment, aligned to its financial services, tech and energy sectors.

Starmer will also turn the focus to foreign affairs on Thursday when he hosts Trump at his Chequers country residence, hoping to persuade the US leader to take stronger action against Russia over its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Trump pleased Europe by calling Russia “the aggressor” in the war last weekend but he is also demanding that Europe stop all purchases of Russian oil before he will agree to impose heavier sanctions on Moscow.

On Israel, the British leader is under pressure to raise the assault on Gaza with Trump, who has expressed frustration over Israel’s air strikes against Hamas leaders in Qatar but overall has been supportive of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Trump has also criticized some European countries over their decision to recognize a Palestinian state as “rewarding Hamas”, although he told reporters he did not mind Starmer “taking a position.”

“Those two geopolitical areas are likely to be the friction points in the conversations,” said political analyst Aspinall. “There will be some awkward moments in those conversations.” ($1 = 0.7328 pounds)