Sir Keir Starmer has a “very tough hand” to play when he meets Donald Trump in the White House this week, former US secretary of state John Kerry has warned.
The prime minister is meeting the US president on Thursday to discuss the war in Ukraine and is set to promise Britain and Europe will play a greater role in their own defence.
Ahead of the meeting, Mr Kerry, who served as Barack Obama’s secretary of state, said: “I like Keir, I think he’s a bright guy. But he’s got a very tough hand.”
With the PM expected to highlight Labour’s plans to boost Britain’s defence budget from 2.3 per cent to 2.5 per cent of GDP, Mr Kerry highlighted the “tough choices” facing Sir Keir in terms of spending elsewhere.
But, asked what advice he would give Sir Keir, Mr Kerry told The Telegraph: “He knows what he’s doing.”
It came as a former British ambassador to the US said the meeting between Sir Keir and Mr Trump is “one of the most consequential meetings of a British prime minister and president that we have had since the Second World War”.
Sir Peter Westmacott, who was Britain’s ambassador to Washington from 2012 to 2016, said the situation in Ukraine and its implications for broader European security make it “a more important trip than usual”.
And he joined Mr Kerry in warning that for Sir Keir “this is going to be a very challenging visit”.
Speaking to the Westminster Hour on BBC Radio 4, Sir Peter said: “Over the years there have been a number of important moments, but I think this one, particularly because of what’s going on in Ukraine, and particularly because of the implications for broader European security, and that’s leaving aside the Middle East which they’ll obviously talk about as well, I think this probably is one of the most consequential meetings of a British prime minister and president that we have had since the Second World War.”
“This trip to the Oval Office I think is a more important one than usual, it’s not just about bragging rights and who got there first and who’s got a special relationship that matters most, because there is so much to talk about and because this is a very different president who’s broken a lot of the rules and has appeared to turn against a lot of allies… for Keir Starmer this is going to be a very challenging visit.”
Sir Peter advised Sir Keir to show Mr Trump Europe is prepared to do more to protect its own borders and to “explain some of the realities of the sport of person he’s dealing with in Vladimir Putin”.
“This is not a man who is known to stick to his word,” he added.
And he warned against the PM accepting any proposal to end the war in Ukraine which leaves the country vulnerable to further Russian aggression and “with nothing to show for having been invaded by a hostile neighbour”.
On Monday, No 10 said Sir Keir believed that President Trump had changed the conversation around Ukraine “for the better”.
Downing St said it was: “Absolutely for the better. He has brought about these talks which could bring about a lasting peace – which we all want to see.”
Security minister Dan Jarvis also said he hopes Sir Keir’s talks with Mr Trump lead to a negotiated peace settlement.
He told BBC Breakfast: “We have a special relationship with the United States, we have a shared national security interest, we want to work together to grow our economies. So these are important discussions that the Prime Minister will be having with president Trump.
“It’s a very good opportunity to look at what more we can do to put pressure on Russia and to seek to bring the conflict in Ukraine to a conclusion.”
Asked whether Sir Keir would need to walk a political tightrope during the talks, Mr Jarvis said the Prime Minister “is expert in working with our international partners”.
Ahead of this week’s meeting, Sir Keir sought to curry favour with the US president, backing his calls for Nato allies to boost their defence budgets.
Addressing the Scottish Labour conference in Glasgow ahead of the third anniversary of Putin’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Sir Keir said: “This is a generational moment. And I’ve been saying for some time that we Europeans, including the United Kingdom, have to do more for our defence and security.
“The US is right about that. In this new era, we can’t cling to the comforts of the past. It is time to take responsibility for our security”
Sir Keir’s meeting with Mr Trump will follow a meeting between the US president and Emmanuel Macron, just days after he accused Britain and France of having “done nothing” to end the war.
It also comes amid rising tensions between Europe and the US, with Mr Trump pressuring Ukraine to accept a peace deal and accusing president Volodymyr Zelensky of being a dictator.
