Sir Keir Starmer to meet Donald Trump for talks ahead of US election

Sir Keir Starmer is to meet Donald Trump during his visit to New York. The Prime Minister is visiting the Republican presidential candidate’s Trump Tower for talks ahead of November’s US election.

Sir Keir said he wanted to meet Mr Trump face to face because 'I’m a great believer in personal relationships on the world stage'. Sir Keir has not yet been able to schedule a similar appointment with Democratic candidate and vice president Kamala Harris.

Ahead of the meeting, Sir Keir told reporters: “I’ve said a number of times, I want to meet both candidates. We’ve now got the opportunity to meet Trump, which is good.

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“Obviously, I still want to speak to Harris as well. But you know, the usual diary challenges, but it’s good that this one now has been fixed.

“It’ll be really to establish a relationship between the two of us. I’m a great believer in personal relations on the international stage.

“I think it really matters that you know who your counterpart is in any given country, and know them personally, get to know them face to face.”

He said the UK embassy team, led by ambassador Dame Karen Pierce, 'has got good relations with both camps and has had for a long time'

“So it’s not the sort of start of something, it’s the continuation of those good relations that have been there with both camps, and that’s a really good thing that the embassy has been doing," he added.

Asked whether he would be prepared to stand up to Mr Trump on issues such as support for Ukraine, Sir Keir said: “The first thing I think is important to say in relation to this is we’ve obviously had a special relationship with the US for a long time, forged in really difficult