Ed Miliband has hailed the US as the UK's "closest ally" after holding talks with his counterpart in Washington, as he denied his previous criticism of "racist" Donald Trump had harmed relations with the White House.
The Foreign Secretary said his past comments about the US president "didn't come up" in talks with Marco Rubio at the US State Department, which he described as "very productive".
Mr Miliband insisted that the partnership with Washington endures and that it would do so "through successive administrations".
Talks with Marco Rubio
Earlier, the senior Labour politician had ignored questions about whether he still thought the president was an "idiot, a racist and a misogynist".
Smiling as he shook hands with Mr Rubio, the Foreign Secretary ducked shouted inquiries by reporters about his previous strident views on Mr Trump, and said: "We are looking forward to our meeting."
Mr Miliband was invited to the US capital by Mr Rubio after their recent first meeting on the sidelines of a foreign ministers' summit in the Philippines last month.
The pair discussed efforts to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, the Ukraine war and the situation in Gaza.
Background and context
The dynamic between the two men was closely watched as the White House was also reported to be concerned about Prime Minister Andy Burnham's decision to hand Mr Miliband the Foreign Office brief.
In his previous role as energy secretary, Mr Miliband was a strong champion of net zero and renewables, while Mr Trump is a vocal supporter of fossil fuels, including opening up North Sea oil, and an avowed opponent of "windmills".
Since arriving in Downing Street, Mr Burnham has signalled a shift in energy policy, earning praise from the Oval Office.
Washington's ambassador to the UK Warren Stephens said recently that Mr Miliband had been "wrong" in 2016 to call Mr Trump "a racist, misogynistic, self-confessed groper" and that "hopefully his views have changed".
He also pledged to work with Mr Miliband in his new role, despite their disagreement on green issues.
Miliband's response
Asked following his talks with Mr Rubio whether he thought his previous statements about Mr Trump had hampered relations with the US administration, Mr Miliband said: "No, and in fact they didn't come up today.
"We had a very productive 90-minute conversation, in which we talked about, yes, about Iran, but about how we can stand shoulder to shoulder with Ukraine against Russian aggression, about how we can work towards relieving the terrible suffering we're seeing in Gaza, and a two-state solution for security of the Israeli and Palestinian people.
"And we talked about a range of other issues."
He added: "What I know is that the US is our closest ally.
"They're our closest ally when it comes to the importance of our economic partnership, our defence partnership, our security partnership, our intelligence partnership.
"That partnership endures, and it endures through successive administrations, and it will endure in the future."
Focus on ceasefire
Mr Miliband said a large part of his discussions with Mr Rubio had focused on securing a "lasting ceasefire" in the Iran war, which he argued would help tackle the cost-of-living crisis.
The Strait of Hormuz waterway, which had been open before the US and Israel launched the military offensive in February, has been a flashpoint in the Middle East conflict and disruption to trade has driven up fuel and food prices.
Mr Miliband said: "People should be in no doubt, I know, as Foreign Secretary, that the British people are worried about what's happened to petrol prices, diesel prices, energy bills, and the single biggest thing we can do is get that ceasefire in relation to Iran."
In his report of the talks, Mr Rubio notably made no reference to the so-called "special relationship" with the UK, and simply referred to the topics covered in the discussions.
Posting pictures of himself with Mr Miliband on X, he wrote: "In my meeting with UK Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband, we discussed the need for Europe to take a greater role in its own security.
"We also reaffirmed our shared commitment to open transit in the Strait of Hormuz and ensuring Iran never obtains a nuclear weapon."
Separately, after the announcement that Mr Miliband will take the UK's seat on the World Bank board, he will also meet its president Ajay Banga during his visit to discuss development, climate change and strengthening global resilience.
