KEIR Starmer is to invite US president Donald Trump to visit the UK and stay at Balmoral Castle, according to reports.
Starmer's meeting in Washington this week is considered to be a critical moment in his leadership amid fragile relations between America and Europe after the US leader launched an extraordinary verbal attack on Volodymyr Zelenskyy last week.
According to reports, the Labour Government are considering Balmoral Castle as the host location for Trump on a future visit.
Trump is a known admirer of the royal family, but it is unclear whether any member of the family would personally host the president.
He would become only the second sitting US president to stay at the royal residence.
A Whitehall insider told the Sun: “President Trump has already been to Windsor and Buckingham Palace, so Balmoral is being talked about for his next visit.
“Everyone knows he loves Scotland, and it is near his golf course.”
Dwight D Eisenhower is the only sitting US president known to have stayed at Balmoral Castle. He visited in 1959 as a guest of Queen Elizabeth, with whom he reportedly had a warm relationship.
Ronald Reagan, after leaving office, visited Balmoral as a guest of Queen Elizabeth.
In an article for the Sun on Sunday, the Prime Minister wrote that Trump, whose team have been holding talks about ending the war with the Kremlin, was “right to grasp the nettle and see if a good peace deal is on the table”.”
But he added: “[Ukraine] needs strong security guarantees so the peace will last. I believe America must be part of that guarantee. It’s in their interest.
“A peace deal which does not stop Putin from attacking again would be a disaster for everyone.”
Britain has so far sought to strike a delicate balance between supporting Ukraine and keeping the White House, which has been holding talks with the Kremlin on ending the war, onside.
Some European leaders have openly condemned Trump’s remarks about Ukraine, which have included suggesting Kyiv “started” the war, and Starmer has faced pressure to challenge the president when he visits Washington.
