Sir Keir Starmer has insisted he and Donald Trump “get on really well” as he came face to face with the US president at the G7 amid tensions between the two nations.
The Prime Minister told reporters he had a “very honest and frank conversation” with Mr Trump and other G7 leaders during dinner on Monday. This comes as G7 leaders held talks about Ukraine and the Middle East on the second day of the summit, which Mr Trump attended with a planned Iran peace deal to be signed on Friday.
Relations between the US and UK leaders have deteriorated since Mr Trump criticised Sir Keir earlier this year for refusing to allow US forces to use RAF bases in the initial wave of attacks against Iran. This week, Sir Keir announced a social media ban for under-16s, a move opposed by Mr Trump’s pro-tech administration. Recent interventions from US Vice President JD Vance and Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth regarding the murder of student Henry Nowak prompted No 10 to criticise those seeking to “interfere in our democracy”.
Sir Keir also faces a domestic row over defence spending as he meets G7 counterparts to discuss global threats. Asked if Mr Trump raised concerns about defence spending or the social media ban, and if he feared these issues could further sour relations, Sir Keir responded: “No, and no, and no.”
He elaborated: “I sat next to Donald Trump for two hours last night at dinner, which was just the G7 leaders. There were no listening rooms, no staff, no advisers. It was literally an opportunity for all of us to have a very honest and frank conversation.”
Sir Keir stressed that he had spoken to Mr Trump on Saturday and sat next to him at events on Monday night and Tuesday morning. “We get on really well,” he said.
When asked about the lack of a bilateral meeting at the summit, the Prime Minister rejected claims that Mr Trump was snubbing him. “Honestly, I mean, we’ve just spent two hours last night sat next to each other, chatting to each other. I spoke to him on the phone on Saturday for quite some time, one to one, as we often do. I’ve been sat next to him and discussing things in the margin with him this morning, and we’re about to go into another session in five minutes, where I’ll be sitting next to him again. So we are talking pretty constantly throughout this and it’s been very productive, very good conversations.”
Sir Keir held one-on-one talks with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Tuesday afternoon, after meeting German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and having a drink with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney on Monday night. He also met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, with whom he agreed there is a “collective resolve” to pressure Vladimir Putin. Downing Street said it was “now vital G7 countries gave Ukraine the support it needed to continue its success in driving back Russian forces”.
Mr Trump also held talks on the sidelines with Mr Zelensky and the Emir of Qatar on Tuesday. The Guardian reported that Mr Trump, French President Emmanuel Macron, and Mr Zelensky were all late and arrived simultaneously for the Ukraine talks on Tuesday morning.
