Lord Cameron has paid court to Donald Trump in Florida, dramatically upping the stakes as the Foreign Secretary appeals to hardline US Republicans to authorise new funds for Ukraine.
The meeting on Monday night at the former president’s Mar-a-Lago resort was his first with a senior UK government minister since he left office in 2021 in chaotic circumstances, following a deadly riot by his supporters on Capitol Hill.
Lord Cameron, a former prime minister, has made no secret of his dislike of Mr Trump in the past, calling him “xenophobic” and “misogynistic” in his memoir. But the surprise talks underscored the election-year influence that Mr Trump wields over recalcitrant Republicans in Washington.
No details of the meeting were immediately disclosed, but a Foreign Office spokesperson said: “It is standard practice for ministers to meet with opposition candidates as part of their routine international engagement.”
Lord Cameron was en route to Washington for talks with leading members of Congress and with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
The two were expected to discuss also Israel’s war in Gaza, amid pressure on the UK Government to disclose legal advice it is receiving over whether Israel is guilty of war crimes following the deaths of seven aid workers in an air strike.
Lord Cameron will say the killings, which included three British nationals, were “completely unacceptable” and call for a “transparent” investigation by Israel ahead of a joint news conference with Mr Blinken. Both the US and UK governments have meanwhile stepped up warnings against Israel launching a threatened assault on the Gazan city of Rafah.
On his visit to Washington, the Foreign Secretary will warn that success for Kyiv in defeating Russia is “vital for American and European security” as he urges members of the House of Representatives to approve an “urgent” extra $60 billion.
He will push for Ukraine to be given the resources needed to “hold the line” and “go on the offensive” in 2025, the Foreign Office said.
He was expected to tell Mike Johnson, the Republican speaker of the House, to stop his colleagues from continuing to block the support amid opposition from hardliners aligned with Mr Trump.
He will say that nothing can match the pace and scale of US support, which remains “the keystone in the arch” in the fight for democracy, the Foreign Office said.
It is the latest of several interventions made by Lord Cameron over the additional funding for Ukraine. Earlier this year, he warned Congress not to show “the weakness displayed against Hitler” in the 1930s.
His previous comments drew the ire of far-right Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, who told him to “kiss my ass” and “worry about his own country”.
In a statement on Monday, the Foreign Secretary said: “Success for Ukraine and failure for Putin are vital for American and European security.
“This will show that borders matter, that aggression doesn’t pay and that countries like Ukraine are free to choose their own future.
“The alternative would only encourage Putin in further attempts to re-draw European borders by force, and would be heard clearly in Beijing, Tehran and North Korea.
“US support for Ukraine has massively degraded the military capacity of a common adversary, Russia has lost half of its pre-invasion land combat power, and a quarter of its original Black Sea fleet, while creating jobs at home and strengthening the Western alliance and Nato.”
The visit comes as Downing Street sought to insist the Government is “completely united” in its stance on Israel following the killings of the World Central Kitchen aid workers.
Divisions emerged over the weekend with Lord Cameron taking a more strident approach to Israel than some of his Cabinet colleagues.
Deputy Prime Minister Oliver Dowden suggested on Sunday that Israel was being held to an “incredibly high standard” compared with other nations and claimed there was “a bit of relish from some people about the way in which they are pushing this case against Israel”.
But on Monday, the Prime Minister’s official spokesman denied there was a split, saying Lord Cameron’s and Mr Dowden’s words were “consistent” with Rishi Sunak’s towards Israel.
