Keir Starmer and Donald Trump “stressed the importance of the close and warm ties” between their countries and “agreed to meet soon” in their first phone call since the US president’s inauguration.
Before the call, Trump had raised the prospect of a state visit to Britain in the near future.
During the conversation on Sunday, the prime minister congratulated the president on his inauguration and paid tribute to his “role in securing the landmark ceasefire and hostages deal in Gaza”, according to a Number 10 spokesperson.
Starmer also told the US leader how he plans to deregulate the UK economy to boost growth, and the president spoke of his “respect and affection for the Royal Family”.
It came after Trump gave his condolences to the prime minister over the loss of his brother, who died on Boxing Day.
Downing Street said the two leaders “agreed to meet soon and looked forward to further discussions then”.
Earlier last week, the US president was asked where he might go for the first international trip of his second term while aboard Air Force One. He replied: “It could be Saudi Arabia, it could be UK. Traditionally it could be UK.”
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A Downing Street spokesperson said of Starmer’s first call with his US counterpart: “The Prime Minister spoke to President Trump on Sunday.
“President Trump opened by sending his condolences to the Prime Minister on the loss of his brother. The Prime Minister thanked President Trump for his kind words and congratulated him on his inauguration.
“The Prime Minister paid tribute to President Trump’s role in securing the landmark ceasefire and hostages deal in Gaza. The President welcomed the release of Emily Damari and sent his best wishes to her family. They discussed the importance of working together for security in the Middle East.
“They also discussed trade and the economy, with the Prime Minister setting out how we are deregulating to boost growth.
“The two leaders stressed the importance of the close and warm ties between the UK and the US, and the President spoke of his respect and affection for the Royal Family.
“They agreed to meet soon and looked forward to further discussions then.”
It comes as a former foreign secretary has said there is “diplomatic work to do” on the relationship between the UK and the US.
Speaking to Times Radio on Monday morning, James Cleverly said it is “good that Keir Starmer had an extended conversation with” Trump and that there are “bridges that need to be rebuilt” after criticism of the US president from senior Labour figures, such as foreign secretary David Lammy.
Cleverly said: “There is definitely work to do, diplomatic work to do because for a whole range of reasons — including defence and trade which are the headlines — we need to make sure our relationship with America and indeed president Trump works.
“So this is probably an important first step. There is going to be an awful lot of work to be done by the Foreign and Commonwealth and Development Office to rebuild what has been, I think, a foolish and unnecessary set of criticisms of the president of one of our closest allies in the world.”
Josh Self is Editor of Politics.co.uk, follow him on Bluesky here.
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