EPSTEIN SHADOW
He then flew on Marine One to Chequers, the place Starmer and his spouse Victoria greeted him to the sound of bagpipes, earlier than going contained in the sixteenth century manor home close to London to start the assembly.
The British premier has positioned himself as a bridge between Trump and European allies, significantly on the battle in Ukraine, in a bid to safe extra commitments for Kyiv from the US chief.
Interesting to Trump’s admiration for British wartime chief Winston Churchill, Starmer led the US president on a tour of Churchill artefacts at Chequers earlier than heading into their bilateral assembly.
His heat tone with the 79-year-old Trump has gained some leniency within the president’s tariff battle, with Starmer saying Thursday the commerce deal the 2 international locations signed in Could was the primary by the US and in addition “the perfect”.
However the talks may discover a number of fronts on the joint press convention the 2 leaders have been attributable to maintain at Chequers.
The scandal over the late US intercourse offender Jeffrey Epstein is one subject that’s dogging each leaders.
Starmer faces political troubles at house after sacking his UK ambassador to Washington, Peter Mandelson, over a furore involving the diplomat’s connections to disgraced financier Epstein.
Epstein has additionally haunted Trump over latest weeks, with further revelations about the pair’s relationship within the Nineties and early 2000s.
There are variations too on Gaza, with Britain reportedly getting ready to announce the popularity of a Palestinian state, a step the US has opposed.
