Keir Starmer stressed the UK guards free speech “preciously” and said he “got on very well” with Vice President JD Vance during Thursday’s meeting.
Speaking to Fox News, Starmer said: “We actually had some exchanges today about things like freedom of speech. We got on very well, by the way.
“We had a really good discussion over lunch and I made clear we’ve had freedom of speech in the United Kingdom for a very, very long time and we guard it preciously.”
Asked if the UK’s Online Safety Act meant it was trying censor speech,Starmer said: “No we don’t believe in censoring speech, but of course we do need to deal with terrorism. We need to deal with paedophiles and issues like that.
“But I talked to the vice president about it today and we had a good exchange about it. And of course, he’s right to champion free speech. We champion free speech in the United Kingdom.”
Keir Starmer’s meeting with Donald Trump this week comes at a crucial moment for the war in Ukraine and the future of the Nato alliance. Europe is looking for leaders who can engage Trump on the future of the continent as the US leader appears more inclined to demand tribute from his allies and cosy up to Vladimir Putin. Sir Peter Westmacott, a former British ambassador the US, has called this one of the “most consequential meetings of a British prime minister and president that we have had since the second world war”.
Can the “special relationship” between the US and the UK save the day? Or has the era of transatlantic cooperation ended in the era of “America first”? Starmer has already established a friendly rapport with Trump and comes bearing promises to raise defense spending and negotiate on trade, but can that overcome Trump’s impulse to abandon Europe and strike a deal with Russia to end the war as quickly as possible?
The US president is notoriously mercurial. His decisions are said to be influenced by the last person with whom he spoke. On Thursday, that person will be Starmer, who comes to the White House on the heels of France’s Emmanuel Macron to try his best to argue Europe’s case to the new US president.
Following Keir Starmer’s news conference with Donald Trump, the deputy leader of the Liberal Democrats, Daisy Cooper, said in a statement: “It is more important than ever that the prime minister takes his momentum from the Trump trip into the European summit this weekend.
“The age of Europe relying on the United States is over: if we want to stop Putin from taking Ukraine, Europe will have to do it.”
Trump insists Putin 'will keep his word'
Donald Trump has insisted that Vladimir Putin would “keep his word” on a peace deal for Ukraine, arguing that US workers extracting critical minerals in the country would act as a security backstop to deter Russia from invading again.
During highly anticipated talks at the White House with the prime minister, Keir Starmer, the US president said that Putin could be trusted not to breach any agreement, which could aim to return as much of the land as possible to Ukraine that was seized by Russia during the brutal three-year conflict.
But, sitting alongside Starmer in the Oval Office taking questions from journalists, Trump refused to commit to deploying US forces to support a European-led peacekeeping force, although he said the US would “always” help the British military in the unlikely event it needed it.
He later indicated the US would make “great trade agreements” with the UK that could progress “very quickly”, adding that Starmer had tried to persuade him against imposing tariffs, saying: “He earned whatever the hell they pay him over there.”
Updated
Downing Street and the White House have posted to their social media accounts about the meeting between Donald Trump and Keir Starmer.
“We are deepening the UK-US relationship to deliver security and growth for the British and American people,” Downing Street wrote in a post on X, alongside several pictures of the two leaders.
The White House shared a picture of Starmer and Trump along with a quote from the US president describing the relationship between the two countries as “really like no other”.
“The US and UK have a special relationship… really like no other, passed down through the centuries, and we’re going to keep it that way. We’re going to keep it very strong, as it is.” – President Donald J. Trump pic.twitter.com/yxcOchPuh1
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) February 27, 2025
Badenoch lauds 'positive outcomes'
Kemi Badenoch, the UK Conservative leader, said there were “positive outcomes” from the meeting between Keir Starmer and Donald Trump today.
Badenoch, in a post on X, said she had previously called for an increase in defence spending to 2.5% of GDP, a visit to Washington, and restarting negotiations on a UK-US free trade agreement.
“These are positive outcomes. BUT…,” she wrote.
The President’s words on the Chagos deal aren’t a guarantee it serves *our* national interest—or UK taxpayers. We haven’t seen the final terms of a deal, but we mustn’t foot the bill for surrendering territory the UK already holds.
Trump, speaking to reporters in the Oval Office earlier today, strongly suggested that he would back a deal in which the UK hands sovereignty of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius.
“I think we’ll be inclined to go along with your country,” Trump said, adding: “I have a feeling it’s going to work out very well.”
Updated
Keir Starmer has thanked Donald Trump for his hospitality after their meeting in the White House.
Starmer, in a series of posts on X, said it was “fantastic” to visit Washington today for talks with the US president.
“The bond between the UK and the US couldn’t be stronger,” Starmer said.
He added:
Growth and security are the foundations of my Plan for Change, and the UK-US relationship is integral to delivering them. Together, we will improve working people’s lives in both our nations.
Updated
Starmer's first White House meeting with Trump – snap analysis
Earlier this week this encounter was widely described as the most difficult, and consequential, first White House meeting a PM would have with a new president in the postwar era. As Keir Starmer and his Downing Street team head for home, they will probably be delighted with how it has gone.
On the basis of the public-facing events, the press conference and the earlier Q&A in the Oval Office (which may even have lasted longer than the press conference), the relationship between the two men is solid and genuine.
Starmer resorted to exactly the same tactic Theresa May deployed when she first met Trump in the White House, offering Trump a state visit (the highest category of ceremonial visit that Buckingham Palace can offer – a carnival of coaches, pageantry, banquets etc). Only this was an even bigger honour, because a second state visit is unprecedented, and Starmer flattered his host shamelessly on this point, laying it on with a trowel. It certainly seemed to work.
But Starmer managed to pull this off without sounding impossibly needy. While Trump dominated the conversation in the Oval Office, Starmer did intervene reasonably often to drag Trump back to his talking points, and he was prepared to contradict Trump on at least one point (see 7.34pm.) He was also a bit more forceful towards JD Vance (see 8.15pm.)
Assuming that Trump was not completely making it up, Starmer was clearly quite assertive when they spoke in private. Trump’s comments about Starmer being a “very tough negotiator” (see 8.32pm) and earning his money lobbying for his country (see 9.05pm) were ideal copy for No 10 (not least because they directly contradict the Conservative party’s main attack line against him).
However, words are just words. Morgan McSweeney, Starmer’s chief of staff, has been telling colleagues in relation to Trump recently:
The important thing is what happens rather than what people say.
McSweeney has been making this point to persuade Labour officials and ministers not to worry too much about Trump’s wilder, lunatic outbursts. But the same logic applies for Trump’s friendly rhetoric.
The real test of today’s meetings will come when the Trump administration takes decisions, and at this point it is hard to tell how useful the positive language will turn out to be.
On tariffs, from what Trump said, it sounded as if the prospect of the UK being hit by US tariffs is now very slight indeed. That would be a big, significant win for Starmer.
Trump was also quite explicit about a trade deal, which potentially could be a bonus for the UK, although it was hard to know quite what he meant. A full-on free trade deal would be difficult to square with Labour’s commitment to aligning the UK more closely with the EU on agriproducts. Maybe Trump was referring to something more limited.
And on Ukraine, despite the efforts of both leaders to play down their differences, Starmer did not quite get the assurances about a US military “backstop” to a Ukraine peace deal that he is seeking (see 8.06pm.) Or at least he didn’t in public. This issue seems unresolved.
That is all from me for tonight. Léonie Chao-Fong is now taking over.
Updated
Q: Do you think President Putin is a man who keeps his word (which is what Trump thinks – see 8.06pm)?
Starmer says his views on Putin are “pretty well rehearsed and pretty well known”.
He goes on:
My concern is that if there’s a deal, and I hope there is a deal, that it must be a lasting deal, that it’s not a temporary measure.
And that is why I think it’s really important that Putin knows that this deal, a historic deal which I very much hope comes about, is … a lasting deal, and that we’re able to deal with any inclination he has to go again or go further.
Trump ends the press conference saying:
I think we’ll have two deals. I think we’ll have a deal on ending the war, and I think we’re going to end up with a great trade deal with you.
Updated
Trump praises Starmer's 'very hard' lobbying as he again suggests UK will be exempt from US tariffs
Q: Did the PM persuade you not to put tariffs on the UK?
Trump replies:
He tried. He was working hard. I’ll tell you that he earned whatever the hell they pay him over there, but he tried.
I think there’s a very good chance that, in the case of these two great friendly countries, I think we could very well end up with a real trade deal where the tariffs wouldn’t be necessary. We’ll see.
He says Starmer was “working hard” on this over lunch.
In all fairness, in all seriousness, I think we have a very good chance at arriving at a very good deal.
Trump declines to say he will apologise to Zelenskyy for calling him dictator
Q: Will you apologise to President Zelenskyy for calling him a dictator?
Trump says he is going to have a good meeting with Zelenskyy tomorrow. He says he has a lot of respect for him.
Updated
Q: Is there an assurance that the US would give military backing to a peace deal for Ukraine?
Starmer says the UK has increased defence spending. If there is a deal for Ukraine, it must be a deal “that sticks”, he says.
He says he will be hosting 18 European countries in London at the weekend to discuss this.
He says President Trump said this morning that the US and the UK support each other.
You heard from the president this morning that, as historically has always been the case, we have each other’s backs.
And today we’ve been talking about the deal, how that will be a lasting deal, and coming out of this, our teams will now be talking in detail about us.
Starmer is referring to the exchanges at 8.06pm. It was Starmer himself who talked about the UK and the US always helping each other out. Trump did not contradict him; but mostly he seemed to be saying the UK did not need military help.
Trump says he supports Nato's article 5
Q: Do you support Nato’s article 5?
Trump replies:
I support it. I don’t think we’re going to have any reason for it. I think we’re going to have a very successful peace, and I think it’s going to be a long, lasting peace.
Article 5 is the clause saying Nato allies should come to each other’s aid if they are attacked.
Donald Trump repeated his false claim that European aid to Ukraine will all be repaid.
The facts: French president Emmanuel Macron fact-checked Trump’s claim during their meeting at the White House earlier this week.
“No, in fact, to be frank, we paid,” Macron said on Monday, explaining that his country had provided aid in the form of grants, loans and loan guarantees. “We provided real money, to be clear.”
Keir Starmer also tried to correct the US president’s claim earlier today.
“Quite a bit of ours was gifted,” Starmer told Trump in the Oval Office. “There were some loans, but mainly it was gifted actually.”
Q: Do you have confidence in the BBC in the light of the latest revelations about the Gaza documentary?
Starmer says the culture secretary has spoken to the BBC about this.
Trump claims UK and US will do trade deal 'rather quickly'
Q: Will there be a trade deal with the UK?
Trump says:
We’ve had great discussions on trade and I think we’re going to have a deal done rather quickly. As quickly as it can be done. We’re going to have something, I think, rather quickly.
Starmer claims Trump's Canada comments have not caused split with UK
Q: Did you discuss Trump’s plan to annex Canada? And what does the king make of that?
Starmer says he has a good, productive meeting with Trump.
On Canada, he accuses the questioner of trying to find “a divide between us that does not exist”.
They are now taking questions.
The first is about tariffs, and Trump defends his plan to impose them, rejecting the argument that consumers will pay more.
Keir Starmer is speaking now.
He says he welcomes Trump’s commitment to peace.
But he says it “can’t be peace that rewards the aggressor or that gives encouragement to regimes like Iran”.
He says they discussed a plan for a peace deal that would be “backed by strength, to stop Putin coming back for more”.
He says Trump is right to say Europe needs to spend more on defence. He says he is “all in”, with the UK boosting its defence spending.
Turning to trade, he says the links between the US and the UK are strong. He mentions plans for more tech cooperation briefed by No 10 in advance. (See 11.45am.)
And he finally ends by saying how pleased he is that Trump has accepted the invitation to another state visit.
Updated
Donald Trump repeated his regular false claim that the Biden administration provided up to $350bn in aid to Ukraine. “We’ve paid far more than any other country,” he said.
The facts: According to the Kiel Institute for the World Economy, the US has allocated about $125bn in aid to Ukraine.
In comparison, Europe – counted as the sum of the EU and individual member states – has allocated $137.9bn in help for Ukraine.
Trump claims UK and US will have 'great trade agreement, one way or another'
Trump is now rambling a bit.
He says the “bloody and horrible war” in Ukraine should never have started.
He says he has spoken to President Putin and President Zelenskyy about ending the war. He goes on:
I think we’ve made a lot of progress. I think it’s moving along pretty rapidly. And I want to thank all of the people that are here that have been working on it, and we’ll let you know what’s what happens.
He is meeting Zelenskyy tomorrow, he says. They will sign the minerals agreement, he says. It will be “dig, dig, dig”, he says, reminscing about a digging project in New York.
His approach is based on common sense, he says.
He repeats his call for Nato countries to spend more on defence.
And he says the UK and the US are going to have “a great trade agreement, one way or the other”.
Trump praises the special relationship. And he says it is a great honour to be invited for a second state visit.
He says the Churchill bust is back in the Oval Office.
And he says the meeting today was “tremendously productive”.
Trump praises Starmer as 'very tough negotiator'
President Trump and Keir Starmer have arrived for their press conference.
Trump starts by saying Starmer is PM of a very special place. He goes on:
You’re a very tough negotiator. However, I’m not sure I like that, but that’s OK.
Starmer will be pleased. In Trumpworld, to be a "very tough negotiator” is high praise indeed.
Starmer hits back at JD Vance over his attack on UK's commitment to freedom of speech
US vice-president JD Vance was asked in the Oval Office to clarify comments he made at the Munich Security Conference earlier this month.
Vance, in a brutal and chastising speech that stunned attendees, accused European governments - including the UK’s – suppressing free speech and censorship.
“Look, I said what I said,” Vance said on Thursday, sitting alongside Keir Starmer and Donald Trump.
We do have, of course, a special relationship with our friends in the UK, and also some of our European allies. But we also know that there have been infringements on free speech that actually affect not just the British … but also affect American technology companies and, by extension, American citizens.
Starmer swiftly responded to Vance’s comments.
“We’ve had free speech for a very, very long time in the United Kingdom and it will last for a very, very long time,” he said, adding:
Certainly, we wouldn’t want to reach across US citizens, and we don’t, and that’s absolutely right, but in relation to free speech in the UK I’m very proud of our history there.
Updated
'What does that mean?' - Trump appears not to know what Aukus pact is
In the Oval Office Donald Trump appeared not to know what the Aukus deal was.
Aukus is an Australian, UK and US military pact, largely focused on the supply of nuclear-powered submarines to Australia. It was agreed in 2021, when Joe Biden was president.
Asked if he would be discussing Aukus with Starmer, Trump replied: ‘What does that mean?”
When it was explained to him, he said he would be discussing it.
The proper Trump/Starmer press conference is due to start within the next 10 minutes.
Trump refuses to give firm US military 'backstop' commitment to Ukraine peace deal, saying Putin will keep his word
During the exchanges in the Oval Office the most difficult topic for Keir Starmer was probably Russia. That is not because President Trump said anything intentionally critical of Britain (apart from an apparent joke about Britain not being able to fight off Russia on its own – see below). But he made it clear that his view of President Putin is miles away from Starmer’s, and he did not offer the robust security assurances, in relation to Ukraine, that Starmer is seeking.
Here are the main points Russia-related points that came out.
Trump suggested he was confident Putin could be expected to honour any peace agreement for Ukraine that he signed. Asked what he would do if Putin did not stick to the terms of a Ukraine deal, Trump replied:
I think he’ll keep his word. I’ve spoken to him. I’ve known him for a long time now.
You know we had to go through the Russian hoax together [the claim that Russia colluded with Trump to rig the 2016 election]. That was not a good thing …
I’ve known him for a long time now, and I don’t believe he’s going to violate his word.
But Starmer said it was important to get assurances that the peace would hold. He said:
If there’s a deal in, we’ve got to make sure it’s a deal that lasts, that is not temporary, that lasts, and that’s why we need to make sure that it’s secure.
And we’ve leant in and said we’ll play our part, and we’ve talked and we will talk about how we work with yourself, Mr President, to ensure that this deal is something which is not violated because it’s very important, if there is a deal, we keep it.
Starmer also praised Trump for creating the conditions that led to peace talks. “I don’t think it would have happened if the space hadn’t been created by yourself,” he told Trump.
Trump said that Putin was someone he could trust. When it was put to him that he seemed to trust Putin, while Starmer did not, he replied:
I know a lot of people that you would say no chance that they would ever deceive you, and they are the worst people in the world.
I know others that you would guarantee they would deceive you, and you know what, they’re 100% honourable, so you never know what you’re getting.
No, I have confidence that if we make a deal, it’s going to hold.
Trump claimed he had a good relationship with both Putin and Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the Ukrainian president.
I have a very good relationship with President Putin. I think I have a very good relationship with President Zelenskyy.
Trump refused to commit to deploying US forces as a backstop to a European-led peacekeeping force. Asked if he would be willing to do this, in a way that might lead to them being in confrontation with Russian forces, Trump replied:
Well, there is a backstop thing, you know. First, you can have European countries because they’re right there. We’re very far away. We have an ocean between us.
But we want to make sure it works. I don’t know when you say backstop – you mean a backstop psychologically or militarily or what.
But we are a backstop, because we’ll be over there, we’ll be working in the country. [See 7pm.]
So I just don’t think you’re going to have a problem.
Trump said the US would always “help” the British – but played down the prospect of the Americans provding a military backstop to a British or European force in Ukraine. Asked if America woulld help the British if their forces in Ukraine were attacked by Russia, he replied:
You know, I’ve always found about the British, they don’t need much help. They can take care of themselves very well.
Now, it sounds like it’s evasive, but it’s not evasive.
You know, the British have been incredible soldiers, incredible military, and they can take care of themselves.
But if they need help, I’ll always be with the British, OK, I’ll always be with them, but they don’t need help.
Starmer said the British had always done very well. But he said he also believed it was important for the two countries to be there “backing each other up”.
But then Trump said:
Could you take on Russia by yourselves?
Starmer replied: “Well …”
Updated
President Trump and Keir Starmer took questions from reporters for about half an hour in the Oval Office. Many prime ministerial press conferences don’t last that long. But we are still getting a proper press conference, and it is expected to start within the hour.
Updated
Starmer corrects Trump when he wrongly says Ukraine will repay Europe for help it's getting to fight Russia
It turns out Keir Starmer ignored Steve Reed’s advice. (See 4.49pm.) When President Trump repeated his claim that Europeans are being repaid the money they have given Ukraine to help it fight Russia, Keir Starmer politely corrected him – just as Emmanuel Macron did on Monday.
Trump claimed he had a “very good relationship” with the Ukrainian leader, adding:
It maybe got a little bit testy because we wanted to have a little bit of what the European nations had. You know, they they get their money back by giving money, we don’t get the money back. Biden made a deal. He put in $350bn dollars and I thought it was a very unfair situation.
At that point Starmer intervened to say:
We’re not getting all of ours. I mean, quite a bit of ours was gifted. It was given. There were some loans, but mainly it was gifted actually.
Trump hints UK might avoid sanctions he plans for EU, saying it's 'very different place' where he has investments
Donald Trump has hinted that the UK may avoid the sort of swingeing tariffs that he has threatened to impose on the EU.
When it was put to him that he said yesterday the EU was constructed to “screw” the EU on trade, and when he was asked what Keir Starmer could say to him that would ensure that Britain did not face tariffs, Trump at first claimed not to have said that “bad word”.
He then launched into a long attack on the EU over trade policy, claiming that people thought it was “politically correct” to say the US’s trade relationship with the EU was good even thought it wasn’t.
Then, referring to the UK, he went on:
I can say that, we’re here for a different reason – we’re talking about a very different place. This is some place that I have investments there. I own Turnberry, I own Aberdeen, and I own a great place called Doonbeg in Ireland. So, I have a great warm spot for your country.
At this point Keir Starmer interrupted, saying:
And our trade, obviously, is fair and balanced and, in fact, you’ve got a bit of surplus. So, we’re in a different position there.
And obviously we contributed hugely in relation to Ukraine.
Trump then added: “It’s going to work out.”
Asked if he was saying that meant there would not be any sanctions on the UK, he replied:
Well, I have to take a look. We’re going to have a good discussion today, and we have some very talented people on the other side, and we have some people that probably aren’t as talented to them, but they’re pretty good. We’re going to have a good discussion, and we’ll be talking about it.
Trump declines to repeat his claim Zelenskyy's a dictator, joking 'Did I say that?'
President Trump has declined to repeat his claim that President Zelenskyy is a dictator. The allegation is false, and prompted outrage in Europe when Trump made it, not least because he refuses to use that word to describe President Putin.
Asked if he still thought that, Trump replied:
Did I say that? I can’t believe I said that. Next question.
Trump says minerals deal would work as 'backstop' because Russia would not attack Ukraine if US workers based there
President Trump said that he thought a minerals deal with Ukraine would operate as a “backstop” (see 6.20pm) because Russia would not attack the country if American workers were on the ground working for companies involved in the extraction process. He explained.
President Zelenskyy is coming to see me on Friday, Friday morning, and we’re going to be signing really a very important agreement for both sides, because it’s really going to get us into that country.
It’s a backstop, you could say, I don’t think anybody’s going to play around if we’re there with a lot of workers and having to do with rare earths and other things which we need for our country.
Here is a fuller version of President Trump’s quote saying he is inclined to accept the UK’s Chagos Islands deal. He said:
We’re going to have some discussions about that very soon and I have a feeling it’s going to work out very well.
They’re talking about a very long-term, powerful lease, a very strong lease, about 140 years, actually. It’s a long time.
I think we’ll be inclined to go along with your country.
It’s a little bit early, we have to yet be given the details, but it doesn’t sound bad.
Here are some more pictures from the Oval Office.
King invites Trump to Scotland ahead of state visit - extracts from his letter
PA Media has released extracts from King Charles’ letter to President Trump. Trump displayed the letter for the cameras, and so some of the wording was visible.
In the letter, the king invited the president to meet him in Scotland, either at Dumfries House or Balmoral, which are near Trump’s golf courses, ahead of a former state visit.
The letter, partially obscured by Trump’s hand, says:
I can only say that it would be … pleasure to extend that invitation once again, in the hope that you … some stage be visiting Turnberry and a detour to a relatively near neighbour might not cause you too much inconvenience. An alternative might perhaps be for you to visit Balmoral …
There is much on both estates which I think you might find interesting, and enjoy – particularly as my foundation at Dumfries House provides hospitality skills-training for young people who often end up as staff on your own establishments!
Quite apart from this presenting an opportunity to discuss a wide range of issues of mutual interest, it would also offer a valuable chance to plan a historic second state visit to the United Kingdom.
As you will know this is unprecedented by a US president. That is why I would find it helpful for us to be able to discuss, together, a range of options for location and programme content.
In so doing, working together, I know we will further enhance the special relationship between our two countries of which we are both so proud.
The letter was signed: “Yours Most Sincerely, Charles.”
Here is a clip of the moment when Keir Starmer explained to Donald Trump that he was being invited by King Charles for a state visit.
As you will see, Starmer lays it on thick, telling the president that this is “really special”, “unprecedented” and symbolic of the “strength of the relationship between us”.
In his remarks alongside Starmer, Trump criticised his predecessor, Joe Biden, saying he did a terrible job, the BBC reports.
He said the US was contributing too much to Nato. And he suggested the 7 October Hamas attack on Israel would not have happened if he had been in office.
He said the talks with Russia about peace in Ukraine would not be happening if he had not won the presidential election. And he said he did not think Russia would launch another attack on Ukraine.
Trump claims he does not know anything about Andrew Tate and his brother being allowed to fly to US
Asked about Andrew Tate and his brother flying to the US, reportedly after the US urged Romania to lift the travel ban that was preventing them from leaving the countrty, Trump reportedly said he “doesn’t know anything about it”. And, according to the BBC, Starmer said he would need to catch up with the story before talking about it.
Trump claims minerals deal could be seen as 'backstop' for Ukraine
Donald Trump has claimed that his planned deal with Volodymyr Zelenskyy on minerals would effectively be a security “backstop”. He said:
President Zelenskyy is coming to see me on Friday morning. And we’re going be signing really a very important agreement for both sides because it’s really going to get us into that country, working there.
He added it was “a backstop, you could say”.
Trump is using the term because a “backstop” is the word that some Europeans have been using to describe the security guarantee they want from US to back up a European-led troop contingent, based in Ukraine, that could protect the country in the event of a peace deal.
But, although a minerals deal would notionally give the US some stake in Ukrainian stability, it is not the military backstop that Starmer and other European leaders want. (See 9.32am.)
Trump says he is 'inclined' to back UK deal to give sovereignty of Chagos Islands to Mauritius
Donald Trump has indicated he could back Keir Starmer’s Chagos Islands deal, PA reports.
Asked about the topic, Trump said:
We’re going to have some discussions about that very soon, and I have a feeling it’s going to work out very well.
I think we’ll be inclined to go along with your country.
This might come as a shock to Trump’s friend Nigel Farage, the Reform UK leader, who for weeks has been saying that figures in the Trump administration are strongly oppposed to the deal.
UPDATE: See 6.52pm for a fuller version of the quote.
Updated
Starmer invites Trump to UK for a state visit
Keir Starmer handed Donald Trump a letter from the king, the BBC is reporting. It’s an invitation for a state visit.
Trump has already had one state visit to the UK and there is no precedent for a head of state making a second one. But his first took place when the late queen was on the throne.
When Theresa May visited Trump in the White House after his first inauguration, beating all other leaders through the door, she also came armed with a state visit invitation. That was seen as a bit premature, given that Trump had only just taken office But Downing Street judged that this was a necessary lubricant to relations. Trump is a great fan of royalty, and particularly admired the queen.
UPDATE:
Here is the copy from the White House pool on what happened when Starmer gave the king’s letter to Trump (POTUS – president of the United States).
[Starmer] also brought a letter from King Charles.
POTUS: “Am I supposed to read it right now?”
POTUS opens it and calls Charles “a great great gentleman”
Says “well, that’s really nice” and displayed letter, calling Charles “a beautiful man and a wonderful man.”
Updated
Trump says he expects to be 'getting along' with Starmer on all topics they discuss
This is what Trump said in the Oval Office.
It’s a great honor to have Prime Minister Starmer in the Oval Office. It’s a very special place, and he’s a special man.
And the United Kingdom is a wonderful country that I know very well. I’m there a lot, and I’ll be going and we expect to see each other in the near future. We’ll be announcing it.
We’re going to be discussing many things today. We’ll be discussing Russia, Ukraine, we’ll be discussing trade and lots of other items, and I think we can say that we’re going to be getting along on every one of them.
We’ve had a tremendous relationship, and frankly, the prime minister and I have met twice before. We get along very famously, as you would say.
I look forward to it very much. We look forward to the day and the meeting. We’ll be having a luncheon after this, and then another work session, and I believe we’re going to have a press conference at the end.
Updated
Trump praises Starmer as 'special man' as they meet in Oval Office
President Trump and Keir Starmer are in the Oval Office now.
Trump says it is a “great honour” to have Starmer in the oval office.
It’s a special place, and he’s a special man.
He says they will announce a visit by Trump to the UK.
They will be discussing trade, Russia and other issues – and will get on on all of those topics, he says.
They will have lunch, a work session, and then a press conference, he says.
Andrew Roth is the Guardian’s global affairs correspondent, based in Washington.
Donald Trump greeted Keir Starmer amicably as the UK prime minister arrived at the White House in a Black Escalade shortly after midday.
The two smiled, exchanged handshakes and clapped each other on the back before turning to reporters.
“President Trump, can you get a peace deal done in Ukraine?” one reporter yelled.
“Yes, we can, we will,” Trump responded, flashing a thumbs up as Starmer stood at his side.
Starmer did not respond to a question as to whether he would get a “backstop”, meaning security guarantees from the US for European peacekeepers in Ukraine in the event of a ceasefire.
Here are some more pictures from the arrival.
Trump says he is confident about getting Ukraine peace deal as he welcomes Starmer at White House
A reporter asks the president if he can get a peace deal done for Ukraine.
Donald Trump replies: “Yes.”
A reporter asks Keir Starmer if he will get a “backstop” – the term being used for a security guarantee from America, so that it will provide backup support (including airpower and logistics) to a European force on the ground providing ‘tripwire” security for Ukraine.
Starmer chooses not to answer that one.
Updated
President Trump is at the door of the White House to meet Keir Starmer, who is arriving now.
Updated
Here is a good Guardian picture gallery of previous meetings between British prime ministers and US presidents.
They are flying the union flag upside down at Blair House, the government guest house opposite the White House, according to Mark Stone from Sky News.
🇺🇸🇬🇧 It seems that the union flag is flying upside down outside Blair House - the presidential guesthouse opposite the White House where PM Starmer is staying for his visit. pic.twitter.com/I5npERKck8
— Mark Stone (@Stone_SkyNews) February 27, 2025
Keir Starmer has brought Donald Trump a present with a Scottish/Tartan element, according to Sky News.
Not sure that will do the trick. Shinzo Abe, the late former Japanese PM who was seen as the world leader who established the best relationship with Trump duing his first term, brought the president a gold golf club.
Carla Denyer, the Green party leader in the UK, says she wants to see Keir Starmer tell President Trump that he is opposed to the “appalling” plan for the US to take over Gaza. She has posted this on Bluesky.
Today’s Starmer/Trump meeting will set the tone for UK-US relations for years to come & is a vital opportunity for our PM to set clear red lines.
Crucially - Starmer must make clear to Trump that the UK will stand firmly against his appalling plan to remove Palestinians from Gaza.
Keir Starmer is due at the White House any minute now.
These are from David Charter from the Times.
The honour guard is getting in place for Sir Keir Starmer’s arrival at the West Wing of the White House for his meeting with President Trump pic.twitter.com/wJ5937G39r
— David Charter (@DavidCharter) February 27, 2025
A line up of US state flags is in place for PM Sir Keir Starmer’s arrival soon at the White House pic.twitter.com/CXv4Sc7sbK
— David Charter (@DavidCharter) February 27, 2025
And this is from ITV’s Robert Peston.
They’re in place at the Whitehouse to greet Starmer pic.twitter.com/YbC2B7vwcD
— Robert Peston (@Peston) February 27, 2025
Is Keir Starmer going to bump into Elon Musk at the White House today? That would be awkward because, although Starmer has established a good relationship with Trump, his plutocrat Doge sidekick spent the first few weeks of 2025 posting countless messages on X denouncing Starmer in the strongest terms. In one post, about the child rape scandal, Musk accused Starmer of “complicty in the worst mass crime in the history of Britain”.
Within the last half an hour or so, Rick Scott, a Florida senator, posted a message on X saying he was going to the White House for a meeting with Trump and Musk.
On my way to the White House for a Senate @DOGE Caucus meeting with President @realDonaldTrump and @ElonMusk.
Together, we will rein in the reckless spending and end the waste, fraud and abuse!
Updated
The White House may say it is “very pleased” about the UK raising defence spending to 2.5% of GDP by 2027 (see 2.04pm), but a Trump administration official has told the Telegraph that they still want the UK to get defence spending up to 5% of GDP. This is the target that President Trump set for Nato countries in a speech to Davos in January.
But Trump needs to have a word with his own government; the US is well short of the 5% target too.
Here is a Guardian graphic with defence spending figures for some Nato countries as a proportion of GDP.
Steve Reed says there's no need for Starmer to fact check Trump in public as Macron did when they meet
On Monday president Macron corrected president Trump at one point when Trump wrongly said that the Europeans were going to be repaid the money they have donated to Ukraine.
Striking moment when Macron touches Trump's arm to correct him on what he said about Europe loaning money to Ukraine
— Selina Wang (@selinawangtv) February 24, 2025
Macron interrupts to say:
"No, in fact, to be frank. We paid. We paid 60% of the total effort… and we provided real money, to be clear" @ABC pic.twitter.com/8yeWeHJiVb
At a press gallery lunch today, Steve Reed, the environment secretary, said he did not think Keir Starmer should adopt this approach during his meeting with the president. Asked if Starmer should correct Trump in real time, Reed replied:
The question on Donald Trump, I don’t think it is for the prime minister on any visit to be factchecking, as you put it, his host … It’s for the British prime minister to advocate for the interest of the United Kingdom in a way that is most likely to secure the outcomes that we want.
So that is the approach the prime minister will be taking.
It’s not performative. It’s extremely serious about getting the outcomes that we need, whether that would be on trade, on security, or any other issue I’m sure that might come up during those kinds of meetings.
Updated
Lib Dems urge Starmer to tell Trump Andrew Tate and his brother should not be allowed to evade justice
I’m Andrew Sparrow, picking up the blog from Jane Clinton.
Keir Starmer is not the only prominent Briton in the US who might be meeting President Trump. According to Sky News, Andrew Tate and his brother Tristan, who have just arrived in Florida despite facing charges in Romania for rape, people trafficking and money laundering (which they deny), hope that at some point they might get a meeting with the president. Andrew Tate, a “misogynist influencer” with a huge online following, has been a vocal Trump supporter.
The Liberal Democrats are urging Starmer to raise this case with Trump and urge him to ensure the brothers do not evade justice. Lisa Smart, the Lib Dem home affairs spokesperson, said:
Andrew Tate is accused of rape and trafficking children in the UK. Allowing the Tate brothers to hide from justice in Florida would be ignoring the rule of law and our extradition treaties.
An attempt by Trump to stand in the way of Britain’s justice system would be deeply wrong. The prime minister should raise this as a priority, and make clear that any interference in this way would be unacceptable.
Here is our story about the Tates being allowed to leave Romania.
Updated
Visa numbers for travel to UK down by third in 2024, figures show
Nearly 935,000 visas were issued in 2024 to people coming to the UK for work, study or family reasons, or through one of the government’s settlement schemes, according to new Home Office data.
The figure, which covers main applicants and dependants, is down by a third (33%) from just under 1.4 million in 2023.
The fall has been driven by a steep drop in the number of people issued with work-related visas, which was down 40% from 613,627 in 2023 to 369,419 last year.
The number of study visas fell year-on-year by 31% from 604,253 to 419,312. By contrast, there was a small rise in family visas, up 7% from 80,083 to 86,049.
Among the resettlement categories, 19,346 visas were issued under the Ukraine schemes (down 52% year-on-year), 19,273 were granted to British National Overseas status holders from Hong Kong (down 32%), and 13,869 were under the EU Settlement Scheme (down 20%), PA Medis reports.
In addition, 3,864 were for dependants joining or accompanying others and 3,426 were under other settlement schemes.
The total number of visas issued across all these categories last year, 934,558, is down sharply from 1,393,079 in 2023.
It is also the lowest total for any 12-month period since the year to December 2021, when the figure stood at 858,766.
The drop is likely to reflect changes in legal migration rules introduced since January 2024 by the previous Conservative government, including a ban on overseas care workers and students bringing family dependants, and a steep rise in the salary threshold for skilled workers to £38,700.
The number of people offered safe and legal routes to the UK dropped by more than a fifth in a year, figures show.
The government said this was mainly down to a fall in the number of visa and extensions granted on the schemes set up in 2022 in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
A migrant help charity said changes to the schemes had made it “much harder” for Ukrainians to apply and called for more to be done “so that Ukrainians can bring all their loved ones to safety”.
The Ukraine Family Scheme, under which people were able to apply to live, work and study in the UK and access public funds for up to three years, closed under the Conservative government in February last year, PA Media reports.
The Ukraine Extension Scheme (UES), which had allowed people already in the UK to remain, closed to most people last May and fully earlier this month.
It was replaced by the Ukraine Permission Extension (UPE) scheme, allowing Ukrainians to extend their stay for a further 18 months.
There were 22,873 people offered visas or extensions under the Ukraine schemes last year, down 53% on 2023 (49,027 people).
Last year’s figure was less than a tenth of the 232,135 people offered visas or extensions on the Ukraine schemes in their first year of existence in 2022.
A total of 79,312 people were offered safe and legal routes to come to or stay in the UK in 2024.
This was down 21% on 100,124 in 2023.
UK is ‘hostile environment’ for Afghans amid rise in refusal of asylum claims, lawyer says
Lawyers and human rights campaigners have warned of a “hostile environment” for Afghans in the UK who have fled the Taliban amid a sharp rise in the number having their asylum claims refused.
Quarterly immigration statistics released on Thursday showed that 2,000 Afghan asylum seekers had their claims refused in the last quarter, an increase from 48 in the same quarter of 2023. The grant rate for Afghan cases has gone down from 98.5% in the last quarter of 2023 to 36% in the last quarter of 2024.
However, the Home Office has said it cannot send anyone back to Afghanistan, which has been ruled by the Taliban since 2021.
This means those whose cases are refused will be stuck in limbo, without the right to work or move on with their lives and at risk of destitution.
A recent internal Home Office document about returns to Afghanistan seen by the Guardian states: “Enforced or voluntary removals are currently paused and cannot be progressed at present. This is due to the Taliban informing the UK that they will no longer accept travel documents issued from the Afghan embassy in London.
“The UK government’s position is that they do not recognise the Taliban as an accepted foreign government. There is currently no timescale for when this will be resolved.”
Read the full report here:
We have more on Mike Amesbury (see post 12.15). The former Labour MP has had his 10-week prison sentence for assault suspended for two years after an appeal at Chester crown court.
Leaving court, Amesbury told press: “I’d like to reiterate that I sincerely apologise once again to Mr Fellows and his family.
“I’m now going to go and see my family, and go home, and I’ll give a statement at a later stage.”
He ignored repeated questions from the media about whether he would resign, PA Media reports.
Updated
Former Labour Scottish first minister Jack McConnell urges Starmer to reverse aid cuts
The cut to the foreign aid budget announced this week will “cost lives and create chaos”, the last Labour first minister in Scotland has claimed.
Lord Jack McConnell urged Number 10 to rethink the decision taken this week, which will see the international development budget cut from 0.5% of gross national income to 0.3% in an effort to increase defence spending to 2.5% of GDP, PA Media reports.
In an article for HuffPost, McConnell said:
I am not proud that the UK will finance that expansion of our national defence forces by reducing our investment in the lives and opportunities of the poorest people on the planet.
To do so without warning or a proper transition will cost lives and create chaos in fragile states that are already too vulnerable to the influence and money of the malign forces we seek to combat.
He added:
Schools will close, medical supplies will stop and economic programmes helping the least developed countries stand on their own feet will come to an end. It is bad in principle, but it is also bad strategically.
The focus on Gaza, Sudan and Ukraine does prioritise the most significant humanitarian emergencies of our time.
But UK withdrawal from everywhere else, and substantial cuts to multilateral programmes that generate billions more from donors and the private sector, will reduce our influence and soft power.
The world will be less secure and more volatile.
Updated
Vladimir Putin wants sovereignty not territory, a Conservative former leader has said, as he argued Donald Trump is making a “completely wrong judgement” if he thinks otherwise.
The Prime Minister should tell the US president that if they “fail” on Ukraine, the world will be vulnerable to totalitarian states, Iain Duncan Smith told the Commons, PA Media reports.
During a debate on Ukraine, Duncan Smith said:
The idea that just meeting Putin’s demand for territory - that he may have got or not - at the moment somehow will appease him and will satisfy his requirements is, I think, a completely wrong judgement.
I noticed in a telephone call between President Trump and Putin this is what President Trump said was important. The truth is Putin is an ex-KGB man. Once KGB, always KGB.
He’s not interested in territory, he’s interested in sovereignty.
He added:
What we have to get lined up in here is the real nature of what Putin wants, and it’s not territory, it’s sovereignty.
He wants to recreate and has always wanted to recreate the full borders of the old Soviet Union in a greater Russia, we know that. And Ukraine isn’t about 20% of their territory, for him it’s all of Ukraine.
So you have a peace deal which isn’t stable, he will be back.
He’ll build up his armed forces, which he can do quite quickly now with the support of people like North Korea, and he will be back in double quick time.
Number of children in temporary accommodation in England hits record high, figures show
Separate figures out today show the number of children in temporary accommodation in England hit a record high of 164,040 as of the end of September, PA Media reports. PA says:
The number has risen 15% in a year and is the highest since records for this measure began in 2004.
The number of households in temporary accommodation was also at a record high of 126,040, having increased 16% in a year.
There were 5,400 households with children living in bed and breakfasts (B&Bs) by the end of September last year – a rise of 15% in a year.
Some 3,470 households with children had been in B&Bs for more than the six-week limit.
By law, B&Bs are meant to be used only for families in an emergency, and for no longer than six weeks.
The charity Shelter said children were being “robbed of stability in temporary accommodation, crammed into B&Bs and hostels without any space to sleep, play or do their homework” while Crisis said the figures show young people are “growing up in unsafe conditions, restricting life chances and trapping people in poverty across generations”.
Jane Clinton is taking over the blog now. I will be back later this afternoon.
Rough sleeping in England in late 2024 up 20% on figure for previous year, survey says
Rough sleeping in England has risen by a fifth in a year, according to new snapshot estimates branded “devastating and shameful”, PA Media reports. PA says:
There were an estimated 4,667 people sleeping on the streets on a single night in autumn last year, according to annual government statistics.
This was an increase of 769 people – or 20% – on the previous year’s snapshot estimate of 3,898.
The latest figure is more than twice the number since the estimates – the latest of which are based on a single date in October or November chosen by local authorities – began being recorded in 2010, when it was 1,768.
While the latest figure remains just below the peak in 2017- when it stood at 4,751 – it is the third year in a row the number has risen.
Commenting on the figures, Rick Henderson, CEO of Homeless Link, which represents homelessness charities, said in a statement:
It is beyond devastating and shameful that our society has allowed thousands upon thousands of people to face the trauma of sleeping rough across this country. In recent memory we almost halved rough sleeping (from its 2017 peak). We know what works and yet once again the situation is getting worse every year. More and more lives are being irreparably damaged, failed by the systems that meant to support them.
We can see the causes of homelessness wherever we look. A welfare system unfit for purpose, an acute shortage of truly affordable housing, extremely over-stretched homelessness, health and social care services and a disconnect between government policies – from hospitals and prisons discharging people onto the streets to people leaving the asylum system with nowhere to live.
This must end here. The Labour government must do what its predecessor failed to – to put the right funding and support in place to prevent and end homelessness for good.
And Josh Nicholson, senior researcher at the Centre for Social Justice (CSJ), a centre-right social justice thinktank, said:
The progress made towards ending rough sleeping during the pandemic has been squandered. Today’s figures point to a tidal wave of need among Britain’s rough sleepers.
This is why the CSJ has today launched a campaign calling on the government to roll out a proven solution to ending rough sleeping, Housing First. Housing First provides ordinary settled housing alongside intensive, person-centred support for people whose homelessness is compounded by multiple and complex support needs. Housing is offered without conditions other than an individual’s willingness to maintain a tenancy. This contrasts to the traditional approach which requires people to prove their ‘tenancy readiness’ before accessing mainstream housing.
Ed Davey, the Lib Dem leader, has restated his call for Keir Starmer to adopt a robust stance with Donald Trump ahead of the PM’s meeting in the White House later. Davey posted this on social media.
With Donald Trump parroting Putin’s propaganda and prioritising America’s enemies over its friends, Keir Starmer must make it clear today: if Trump continues like this, the UK will not stay silent.
Tories criticise government for not allowing Gatwick expansion to go ahead immediately
The Conservative party has criticised the government for only giving qualified approval to the expansion of Gatwick airport, and not allowing it to go ahead immediately. In a statement Gareth Bacon, the shadow transport secretary, said:
Labour promised to go ‘further and faster’ on growth, but once again they are failing to deliver.
Increasing aviation capacity would hep to deliver economic growth. Labour’s decision to kick the can down the road, extending the deadline for the final decision on Gatwick to October, shows this promise wasn’t worth the paper it was written on …
Under new leadership, the Conservatives would drive airport expansion forward to support a thriving economy.
Trump administration 'very pleased' about increase in UK defence spending, official says
Reuters has posted some snaps from a briefing given by an official in the Trump administration.
Senior Trump administration official: Very pleased with UK’s increased defense spending
Senior Trump administration official: Pleased with Starmer’s discussions of committing British troops to help enforce peace
Senior Trump administration official: Economic partnership with Ukraine does not include specific guarantee of funding for future warfighting
Senior Trump administration official: Trade to be part of trump-starmer discussions
Senior Trump administration official: US wants reciprocal, equal trade with UK
None of this is very new, but the news that the White House is “very pleased” about the increase in UK defence spending (as opposed to just being “pleased” with the commitment about troops for Ukraine) is noteworthy. It is a bit stronger than the comment from Pete Hegseth, the US defence secretary, welcoming the budget uplift on Tuesday.
Updated
Almost 1m young people not in education, employment or training, figures show
New figures revealing almost one million young people are not in education, employment or training have been described as “shocking”, PA Media reports. PA says:
The number of so-called NEETs aged 16 to 24 increased from 877,000 to 987,000 in October to December compared to the same quarter the previous year.
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said an estimated 13.4% of all people aged 16 to 24 in the UK were not in education, employment or training in the final quarter of last year, an increase of 1.3 percentage points compared with October to December 2023.
An estimated 14.4% of young men and 12.3% of young women were NEET, said the ONS.
The increase was caused by both young men, with an increase of 56,000 on the year, and young women, with a rise of 53,000.
Of the total number of young people who were NEET, 542,000 were young men and 445,000 were young women.
Comment on the figures, the TUC general secretary Paul Nowak said:
Every young person deserves a decent start to their working life but under the Tories, more and more young people became stuck out of work or training, which comes with huge consequences for future opportunities.
The government is now rightly prioritising change but with close to one million young people outside of employment or education the situation is stark.
The Youth Guarantee is the right step but it must be part of a comprehensive plan to ensure all young people across the country can access high-quality training and decent, well-paid work as well as timely and effective healthcare.
Stephen Evans, chief executive at the Learning and Work Institute, said:
Today’s worrying rise may signal further trouble ahead in the absence of economic growth, and highlights the importance of implementing a youth guarantee so all young people are offered a job, training place or apprenticeship.
Ben Harrison, director of the Work Foundation at Lancaster University, said:
Today’s data shows that young people not in employment education or training is at the highest level for 10 years, which could be cause for concern for the government’s plan to boost employment levels.
With falling vacancies and a sluggish labour market, estimates appear to show that young people are being hit hardest as a further 110,000 young people are not in education, employment or training compared to a year ago.
The Conservative party has criticised the government over today’s Home Office figures showing asylum applications at a 20-year high. (See 11.29am.) In a statement Chris Philp, the shadow home secretary, said:
With no deterrent, and an obsession with rewarding criminal migrants with British passports, today’s figures are no surprise.
Despite promising to end hotel usage for asylum seekers, the numbers have gone up again and they are costing Britons dear.
Removals of small boat arrivals are down again under Labour, with only 4 per cent of small boat arrivals being removed. Does the Labour government really think that letting 96 per cent of illegal immigrants stay here is going to deter anybody?
Putin says his talks with Trump giving grounds for hope, but warns about Western elites undermining them
Keir Starmer may be the first British prime minister ever to fly to Washington unable to be 100% confident that he has more influence over the US president than his counterpart in the Kremlin. The other president, Vladimir Putin, has been speaking to the media today and, as Reuters reports, Putin implied that his own talks with Washington were going quite well. He also implicitly warned Trump not to let himself by swayed by “Western elites” – which presumably means people like Starmer.
Reuters says:
Russian President Vladimir Putin told the FSB security service on Thursday that initial contacts with the administration of US President Donald Trump gave grounds for hope.
Putin said in televised comments that Russia and the United States were ready to establish cooperation but some Western elites would seek to undermine the dialogue between them.
UPDATE: According to the BBC, Putin said:
We understand that not everyone is happy with the resumption of Russian-American contacts. Some Western elites are still determined to maintain instability in the world. These forces will try to disrupt or compromise the dialogue that has begun.
We need to take it into account and use all the possibilities of diplomacy and special services to prevent such attempts.
Updated
Treasury minister Darren Jones confirms proposals to limit impact of two-child benefit cap being considered
Darren Jones, chief secretary to the Treasury, has in effect confirmed a Guardian report saying ministers are considering exempting parents with children under the age of five from the two-child benefit cap.
Speaking on BBC Wales, Jones said child poverty was a “significant problem” and that the government will set out a report “later in the year about all the different things we’re going to do” to tackle the issue.
Asked specifically about the Guardian story and whether the under-fives exemption had been ruled out, Jones said the UK government’s child poverty taskforce was looking at all “viable options”. He added:
We have to go through the spending review, we have to work with colleagues on a whole range of issues.
Campaigners condemn Gatwick runway decision, with Green party saying it shows Labour 'trashing its climate credentials'
The Unite union has welcomed the government’s decision to give qualified approval to a £2.2bn plan to expand Gatwick airport. Sharon Graham, the union’s general secretary, said:
Unite welcomes the announcement of the expansion of Gatwick but it needs to come with guarantees of well paid, unionised jobs and proper facilities for workers.
It is also ever more urgent with every airport expansion that we ensure domestic production of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) to offset carbon emissions and meet the government’s own targets on net zero.
But environmental campaigners and other experts have been highly critical. In his story Gwyn Topham quotes reaction from the Gatwick Area Conservative Campaign, Friends of the Earth and the climate charity Possible.
Here are some more voices saying the decision is wrong.
From the Green MP Siân Berry
The Labour government is trashing its climate credentials one absurd decision at a time. Only one day after receiving critical advice from its own climate advisors on the need to lower flying demand, ministers decide to support yet more unnecessary expansion for the benefit of wealthy investors.
Pushing through these damaging plans shows such poor economic judgement. Over 100,000 extra flights a year won’t deliver for our communities. Labour should listen to the public who think airport expansion is the wrong priority. Most of us fly once a year if at all and would rather see cheaper train tickets and more bus routes instead to help with our daily journeys and create jobs where we live, in contrast with frequent flyers leaching money out of the economy.
From Alex Chapman, an economist at the New Economics Foundation, a leftwing thinktank
Growing Gatwick will not magic up the economic growth the government so desperately wants. Business air travel has collapsed while expansion will see three times as many tourists leave the country as come in.
Voters living outside London and the south east will not thank the government for this decision. Expanding airports like Gatwick doesn’t create new jobs - it displaces jobs from the wider UK regions, and particularly the domestic tourism industry which is a key source of spending outside London and the south east.
From Hannah Lawrence, a spokesperson at Stay Grounded, a network representing groups campaigning to reduce air travel
Encouraging Gatwick’s expansion in the middle of a climate crisis is irresponsible. Allowing such a polluting industry to expand in the name of supposed ‘economic growth’ would actually create further inequality, suffering and a lack of prosperity in years to come. All while those who have never set foot on a plane suffer the worst consequences.
There is no such thing as green flying which is why we need an immediate end to airport expansion and an urgent reduction in the number of flights that take off each day.
From Colin Walker, head of transport at the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit, a non-profit organisation promoting informed debate on climate issues
For a government focused on clean economic growth, there are plenty of projects they can support that will achieve their goals, but airport expansion is not one of them. Were the government to approve expansion of both Gatwick and Luton airports, emissions would increase to such an extent that all the CO2 savings that the government hopes to achieve from its Clean Power Plan would be wiped out by 2050.
Mike Amesbury MP has 10 week jail sentence for assault suspended, following appeal
The former Labour MP Mike Amesbury has had his 10-week prison sentence for assault suspended for two years following an appeal at Chester crown court, PA Media reports.
This decision is unlikely to prevent a byelection going ahead in Amesbury’s constituenmcy, Runcorn and Helsby. Under the Recall Act, campaigners can start collecting signatures for a recall petition if an MP gets a custodial sentence, even if it suspended. In the past this process has almost always resulted in the 10% of the electorate threshold being met, and a recall byelection going ahead.
Angela Eagle, the minister for border security and asylum, has responded to today’s figures showing asylum applications at their highest level for more than 20 years (see 11.29am) by issuing a statement saying the system was “broken” under the Tories. She says:
Over the last six years, legal migration soared, a criminal smuggler industry was allowed to establish itself in the Channel, and the asylum system was broken.
Through our Plan for Change we’re restoring order to the system and substantially increasing enforcement. Since July, returns are up to their highest level in half a decade, with 19,000 people with no right to be here removed. Enforced returns up 24% and illegal working arrests and visits increased by 38%.
Under the previous government, in the last few months before the election, asylum decision making collapsed by more than 70% pushing the backlog right up. We have spent the summer and autumn reversing that damage increasing asylum decision making by 52% in the last three months of 2024, putting us on track to close more asylum hotels next month.
Disputes involving civil servants are escalating, threatening strikes over issues including office closures and working from home, PA Media reports. PA says:
The Public and Commercial Services union (PCS) announced it was balloting its members at the Office for National Statistics (ONS) and Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government for industrial action over separate disputes.
More than 1,000 PCS members at the ONS based in Newport, South Wales, Titchfield in Hampshire, London, Darlington, Manchester and Edinburgh, have been refusing to follow an instruction to spend at least 40% of their time in the office and are not working overtime.
Their six-month strike mandate runs out at the beginning of April, so the union is balloting members for a new one to allow action to continue.
Ban pornography depicting strangulation, review urges UK ministers
Pornography depicting strangulation should be made illegal along with other kinds of “legal but harmful” sexual material, according to an independent government review. Dan Milmo has the story.
No 10 says Starmer and Trump will discuss further tech and AI partnership at White House meeting
Although Ukraine, tariff policy and the Chagos Islands are likely to be three of the topics of most interest to British journalists at the Trump/Starmer press conference later, Downing Street says the prime minister wants to make tech policy on of the main subjects for discussion when he visits the White House.
In its news release about the visit, Downing Street says the two leaders will joint tech initiatives. It says:
Both countries are world leaders in AI and advanced technologies, and the prime minister will be looking to build on these strong foundations to create jobs and economic growth.
The discussion will have a particular focus on the opportunities that further technology and AI partnerships could deliver. These include a proposal of high-ambition shared moonshot missions across top technologies including quantum and AI, and a deeper partnership on space.
The US and UK are the only two allied countries with trillion-dollar technology eco-systems, and the prime minister will make the case for further integration between the two countries’ tech sectors to make them the most efficient, ambitious technology sectors in the world.
In October, US tech firms announced a £6.3bn package of investment to support UK data centres – a central pillar of the government’s plan to ramp up the country’s AI capacity. In January a further £12bn investment from Vantage Data Centers created over 11,500 jobs as the government published its AI Opportunities Action Plan.
Asylum applications reached 108,000 in 2024, highest level for more than 20 years, figures show
More than 108,000 people applied for asylum in the UK last year – the highest number for any 12-month period since current records began in 2001, PA Media reports. PA says:
The total of 108,138 asylum seekers is up 18% from 91,811 in 2023, according to data published by the Home Office.
The previous record was 103,081 in the 12 months to December 2002.
Migrants who made the journey to the UK across the Channel in small boats accounted for 32% of the total in 2024.
The data shows 38,079 asylum seekers were being housed temporarily in hotels at the end of December, up 2,428 from 35,651 at the end of September.
This is the second quarterly rise in a row, although the figure is still some way below the recent peak of 56,042 at the end of September 2023.
Asylum seekers and their families are housed in temporary accommodation if they are waiting for the outcome of a claim or an appeal and have been assessed as not being able to support themselves independently.
They are housed in hotels if there is not enough space in accommodation provided by local authorities or other organisations.
The rise comes as the government plans to close nine more asylum hotels by the end of March.
Responding to the figures, Marley Morris, from the Institute for Public Policy Research think tank, said: “If the Home Office wants to end the use of hotels, it will need to double down on efforts to improve the speed and quality of decision-making. Applications should be triaged early and decisions for high-grant nationalities should be streamlined. Crucially, the government must take care that its efforts to accelerate decision-making do not result in these cases simply shifting over into appeals.”
There were 124,802 people waiting for an initial decision on an asylum application at the end of December – down 6% from 133,409 at the end of September.
The total peaked at 175,457 at the end of June 2023, which was the highest figure since current records began in 2010.
The number of people waiting more than six months for an initial decision was 73,866 at the end of December, down from 83,888 at the end of September and well below the recent peak of 139,961 in June 2023.
The data also shows that the most common nationality among asylum applicants in 2024 was Pakistani, accounting for 10,542 people or 9.7% of the total.
Afghan was the second most common nationality (8,508 people, 7.9% of the total), down from 9,710 (10.6%) in 2023, when it was the most common.
Along with Pakistan, the largest increase in asylum claims in 2024 came from Vietnamese nationals, at 5,259 (4.9% of the total), up from 2,469 (2.7%) in 2023.
EU's von der Leyen to travel to London on Sunday for Ukraine security summit
European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen will travel to London this Sunday to take part in an informal meeting on Ukraine and European security, the European Commission has just confirmed. Jakub Krupa has more on his Europe live blog.
Lammy confirms Trump has power to veto Chagos Islands deal
David Lammy, the foreign secretary, has confirmed that President Trump has the ability to veto the deal that the UK has negotiated transferring sovereignty of the Chagos Isands to Mauritius. Speaking on ITV’s Peston last night, Lammy said:
If President Trump doesn’t like the deal, the deal will not go forward.
The reason for that is because we have a shared military and intelligence interest with the United States, and of course they’ve got to be happy with the deal, or there is no deal.
The government says the deal is necessary because otherwise there there is a risk that an international court will soon issue a binding ruling saying the islands belong to Mauritius. This would make it harder for the UK to maintain its joint airbase with the US on Diego Garcia, the main island in the Chagos archipelago.
But the Conservative party, and some American rightwingers, argue that the deal costs too much (it will reportedly involve the UK paying Mauritius £90m a year for the lease on Diego Garcia) and that the UK should just stay put and face down attempts to contest sovereignty.
David Lammy, the foreign secretary, also had a meeting last night with Gen Keith Kellogg, President Trump’s envoy for Russia and Ukraine. Kellogg posted this on social media.
I had a great meeting with 🇬🇧 Foreign Secretary @DavidLammy today in Washington. The UK is stepping up on defense spending and is ready to work with 🇺🇸 to end the war in Ukraine and keep the peace in Europe. @POTUS and I agree this is a top priority and we're going to get it done pic.twitter.com/EeN4bdzz21
— Gen. Keith Kellogg (@SPE_Kellogg) February 26, 2025
I had a great meeting with 🇬🇧 Foreign Secretary @DavidLammy today in Washington. The UK is stepping up on defense spending and is ready to work with 🇺🇸 to end the war in Ukraine and keep the peace in Europe. @POTUS and I agree this is a top priority and we’re going to get it done
Richard Adams is the Guardian’s education editor.
The Department for Education has proposed Prof Edward Peck, the vice-chancellor of Nottingham Trent University, as the next chair of the Office for Students, England’s higher education regulator.
Peck is widely seen as a safe pair of hands to oversee the troubled independent watchdog, which has been criticised by multiple agencies since its establishment in 2017 for being bureaucratic, unresponsive and overly politicised.
After leading Nottingham Trent for more than a decade Peck had previously announced he was stepping down this summer. Peck’s appointment will be vetted by MPs on the education committee at a hearing on 4 March.
Bridget Phillipson, the education secretary, said:
Prof Peck has played a key role in supporting students and has a wealth of experience that will be instrumental in guiding the OfS forward. I look forward to finalising his appointment.
He will play a vital part in supporting higher education providers’ financial sustainability and breaking down barriers to opportunity.
Ukraine's Zelenskyy to visit Ireland today en route to US
Volodymyr Zelenskyy is to visit Ireland today on his way to the US to seal a controversial deal with Donald Trump on the country’s rare earth minerals. Lisa O’Carroll and Jakub Krupa have more on our Europe live blog.
Here are some more pictures from the reception at the British ambassador’s residence in Washington attended by Keir Starmer last night.
Minister ‘sets path’ to allow Gatwick to open second runway
Gatwick has been given a qualified green light to operate a second runway after the government “set out a path to expansion” for London’s second biggest airport, Gwyn Topham reports.
Starmer says he wants UK and US to have 'new partnership'
Keir Starmer also spoke at the reception at the ambassador’s residence last night, and he used his speech to suggest that the Labour government and the Trump administration have more in common than people might assume.
Referring to Elon Musk, and his recent appearance alongside the Argentinian president Javier Milei and a chainsaw, Starmer said:
My message is really simple, that there is no more important relationship for the United Kingdom [than the US], in defence, in security, in trade, in tech, in finance, and so much more.
So we want to strike a new partnership. We share the view that our best days lie ahead.
And you know, taking out a chainsaw isn’t quite my style. But we are stripping away red tape and bureaucracy.
We are reforming permitting [planning rules], getting things built, reducing barriers to investment and growth. And we’re open for business, open for investment, and we’re determined to help US innovators thrive in the United Kingdom.
So my message is we want to work with you, we want to welcome you to Britain, we want a new partnership, because our history shows that when we work together, great things happen.
Starmer also cracked a joke about Peter Mandelson. Starmer said:
I’ve only just arrived but already I can feel there’s real buzz around Washington right now. You can sense that there’s a new leader. He’s a true one-off, a pioneer in business, in politics. Many people love him. Others love to hate him. But to us, he’ s just … Peter.
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Trump will be 'very consequential president', Mandelson says
Keir Starmer attended a reception at the British embassy in Washington last night, where Peter Mandelson, the new UK ambassador, predicted that Donald Trump would be a “very consequential president”.
In his speech, Mandelson this was a “very significant moment for our lives, between our two countries and indeed for all the freedom-loving democracies in the world”. He told his guests:
The US and the United Kingdom, we basically share everything together.
We share people, we share cultures, we share a lot of intelligence, we share technologies, and … we also share some of the fighting of our adversaries as well.
And of course one thing we don’t need to fight over is trade, because we have this fantastically fair and balanced trade relationship when we reciprocate so much – that’s just a little thing for you to remember in the coming weeks.
Trump has not yet said whether or not the UK will be exempt from the tariffs he says he will impose on the rest of Europe, and the UK government is arguing that its exports should be tariff-free because trade between the two countries is broadly balanced.
Referring to Trump, Mandelson also said:
You have a leader in this country in the president who in my view is going to be a very consequential president for this country indeed.
Mandelson intended his American guests to take that as a compliment. But even Trump’s fiercest critics probably would not quibble with Mandelson’s description.
Donald Trump says US won't give Ukraine security guarantee 'beyond very much' ahead of meeting with Keir Starmer
Good morning. Keir Starmer is in Washington where later today he will have his first meeting with President Trump since the inauguration. With Trump aligning with Moscow even more explicitly than he did during his first administration, and threatening to wind down the Nato guarantees that have underpinned the security of western Europe since the second world war, the stakes could not be higher. Starmer, despite leading a party whose activists mostly loathe Trump and everything he represents, has managed to establish a warm relationship with the president and today will give some clues as to what extent he can sustain that, and protect the UK from the tariff warfare that Trump is threatening to unleash on the EU. But Starmer is one of three European leaders in Washington this week (Emmanuel Macron was there on Monday, Volodymyr Zelenskyy is there tomorrow) and today’s meeting is also part of a wider story about the fracturing of the US/Europe alliance. It is definitely in trouble; what is not yet clear is whether after four years of Trump it will still be fully functional.
Starmer spoke to reporters on his flight to the US yesterday. Pippa Crerar, the Guardian’s political editor, was on the plane and, as she reports, Starmer said he wants Trump to agree that, in the event of a peace settlement in Ukraine, the US will offer security guarantees that will make it durable. The PM has already said that Britain would contribute troops to a European so-called “tripwire” peace-keeping force, there to defend Ukraine and deter Russia. But European soldiers would need US air and logistical support to be effective, and Starmer is looking for assurances that Washington will provide this level of support.
But the backdrop is not promising. As Starmer was flying across the Atlantic, Trump was holding a televised cabinet meeting where, Soviet-style, his ministers laughed heartily at his jokes as they all congratulated each other on how brilliantly they were doing. In the course of the meeting, on the subject of Ukraine, Trump said:
I’m not going to make security guarantees beyond very much. We’re going to have Europe do that.
Starmer is due to arrive at the White House shortly after 5pm UK time and the press conference is meant to start at 7pm. We will, of course, be covering it live. It should be fascinating. During Trump’s first term, Theresa May managed to get the first foreign leader invite to the White House and her visit, during which she offered the president a state visit, was deemed a success. But it did not stop Trump treating her very badly later during the presidency, regularly patronising her when they spoke in private, and sometimes in public too, and openly suggesting at one point that Boris Johnson would make a better replacement.
Here is the agenda for the day.
9.30am: The Home Office publishes its latest asylum, resettlement and returns figures.
9.30am: Lisa Nandy, the culture secretary, takes questions in the Commons.
After 10.30am: Lucy Powell, the leader of the Commons, makes a statement to MPs about next week’s parliamentary business.
11.30am: Downing Street holds a lobby briefing.
Around 5.15pm (UK time): Keir Starmer is due to arrive at the White House for his meeting with President Trump.
Around 7pm (UK time): Starmer and Trump are due to hold a press conference.
And at some point today Heidi Alexander, the transport secretary, is expected to announce that she is approving a decision to expand Gatwick.
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