Keir Starmer today played down the prospect of Donald Trump’s state visit invite being withdrawn in the wake of his spat with Volodymyr Zelensky.
The PM stressed that the invitation was a ‘matter for the King’ but swiped at people ‘trying to ramp up the rhetoric’ over the White House chaos.
No10 sources were adamant that there is no chance of the visit being axed, despite a furious backlash at the ‘humiliation’ of the Ukraine president in the Oval Office.
Sir Keir handed Mr Trump a letter from King Charles offering him the unprecedented honour when he made his own trip to Washington last week.
The US president is known to be an admirer of the Royal Family, and the state visit was seen as a major tool in Sir Keir’s diplomatic armoury.
Keir Starmer today played down the prospect of Donald Trump’s state visit invite being withdrawn in the wake of his spat with Volodymyr Zelensky
No10 sources were adamant that there is no chance of the visit being axed, despite a furious backlash at the ‘humiliation’ of the Ukraine president in the Oval Office (pictured)
Sir Keir has been gathering leaders from Europe – and Canada – in London today as they try to respond to the increasing volatility of ties with the US
Sir Keir told the BBC’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg: ‘I’m not going to be diverted by the SNP or others trying to ramp up the rhetoric without really appreciating what is the single most important thing at stake in Europe.’
He told the same programme that the clash in the Oval Office made him feel ‘uncomfortable’ but he decided to ‘roll up my sleeves’ rather than ‘ramp up the rhetoric’ in response.
Shadow minister Alicia Kearns had told the Mail on Sunday that ‘state visits should be conferred to the most honourable of allies’.
‘No state visit should proceed until the steadfastness of the US’s commitment to her allies is assured,’ she said.
However, a spokesman for Tory leader Kemi Badenoch effectively disowned the remark saying the views of individual MPs are not the position of the party.
‘Personal views of individual MPs are not official Conservative Party positions,’ the spokesman said.
‘In practical terms, the state visit is a matter for the King who extended the invitation, and not for MPs.
They added that Mr Badenoch believes it is ‘imperative that the UK remains close to America and they don’t disengage from NATO if we are going to get a just and lasting peace for Ukraine’.
Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey said the Prime Minister should use Mr Trump’s visit to leverage security guarantees from the US.
Asked whether he thinks the visit should be called off he said: ‘No, I don’t.
‘What we’ve said in the Liberal Democrats all along is that the state visit should be used to secure guarantees for Ukraine.’
Sir Keir has been gathering European leaders in London today as they try to respond to the increasing volatility of ties with the US.
After embracing Mr Zelensky on the steps of Lancaster House in London, the PM told the gathering they must step up to a ‘once in a generation moment’.
Emmanuel Macron and Giorgia Meloni also received a warm welcome, as Britain, France and Italy look set to take key roles in a ‘coalition of the willing’ to enforce any peace deal with Russia.
The leaders are expected to signal a ramping up of defence spending with Sir Keir urging them to recognise the ‘brutal reality’ of the US pulling back from military guarantees.
A spokesman for Tory leader Kemi Badenoch (pictured) effectively disowned a remark from shadow minister Alicia Kearns that the state visit should not happen if the US is not a steadfast ally
The summit was already planned before the on-camera slanging match with Mr Trump and his vice president JD Vance.
Mr Trump is said to be demanding a public apology from the Ukrainian president amid threats to pull the plug on US military support.
In a sign he is keen to mend fences with the US, Mr Zelensky has described the president’s support for Ukraine as ‘crucial’.
However, Mr Zelensky did not respond to throw questions over whether he was willing to say sorry.
Meanwhile, the Kremlin has been trolling the woes of Nato by jibing that US policy now ‘largely coincides with our vision’.
