As the pomp and pageantry of President Trump’s visit to Windsor Castle concludes, all eyes turn to tomorrow’s diplomatic meeting with Sir Keir Starmer.
The Chequers meeting will be far more consequential and there are likely to be a few awkward topics on the agenda.
The first elephant in the room is the recent sacking of Starmer’s ambassador to the United States, Lord Peter Mandelson. The former Labour grandee was sacked last week after emails showing his close relationship with Jeffrey Epstein, convicted child sex offender, were leaked by the press.
Trump has also faced serious backlash over his own relationship with Epstein, which would make any conversation about the disgraced financier difficult. The president is yet to be asked his views on Mandelson, but the topic is sure to arise in the joint press conference.
Another potentially tricky topic is the war in Ukraine. This is Trump’s first visit to Europe since the Russians risked a major escalation by violating Polish airspace. Donald Tusk, Polish Prime Minister, said that 19 drones had crossed the border, prompting him to invoke Nato Article Four, which calls an urgent meeting of the major powers.
Trump has faced accusations of being too soft in his dealings with Vladimir Putin. The more hardline Starmer will be hoping to secure some more concrete promises.
Lastly, the assassination of Charlie Kirk, a right-wing political commentator, will make free speech a delicate topic.
The most awkward moment of Starmer’s otherwise successful visit to the Oval Office in February came when vice-president JD Vance levelled criticisms at Britain’s record on free speech.
Downing Street will hope that discussions of Lucy Connolly – who pleaded guilty to inciting racial hatred over the Southport riots last year – Reform UK, and the recent Unite the Kingdom marches in London stay firmly off the table.
Featured image credit: Number 10 via Flickr under CC-BY-NC-ND 2.0 licence
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