Starmer-Trump meeting live: PM urged to oppose Trump’s ‘appalling’ Gaza plan in crunch talks – UK Times

Labour MP Mike Amesbury is set to return to court this morning to appeal against his 10-week jail sentence.

The suspended Runcorn and Helsby MP was handed the jail term on Monday after punching a constituent in a drunken brawl last year.

He will attend an appeal hearing at Chester Crown Court on Thursday morning, a court spokesman said.

The co-leader of the Green Party has called for Sir Keir Starmer to oppose Donald Trump’s Gaza real estate plan when he meets the president in Washington.

Carla Denyer said the meeting is a “vital opportunity for our prime minister to set clear red lines”, and supported Sir Keir’s approach on Ukraine.

But she added: “He must also make clear that the same applies to Palestinians, and tell Trump that the UK will stand firmly against his appalling plan to remove Palestinians from Gaza – effectively a threat of ethnic cleansing.”

Now is the time for Starmer to put British values into practice on the world stage. The people of this country will be watching to see if he can deliver.”

Donald Trump has claimed the European Union was invented to “screw” the US during a meeting in which he made clear that Europe would be responsible for Ukraine’s security after a peace settlement.

“We’ll be announcing it very soon, and it’ll be 25 per cent generally speaking, and that’ll be on cars and all other things,” he said.

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The Prime Minister will be keen to discuss AI in his meetings with Donald Trump, the Technology Secretary has suggested.

Peter Kyle told Sky News that it is “incredibly important” to have western democracies “leading the race” for new technologies such as AI.

Asked whether he hoped there could be more collaboration with the US on AI as a result of the Prime Minister’s trip, Mr Kyle said: “I know full well the Prime Minister is keen to discuss AI technology, but also find areas where we can collaborate to a greater extent going forward with the US.”

Pointing to developments in medical and climate tech as well as AI, he said that the UK and the US are “global leaders”.

He added: “And it is incredibly important in these technologies that you have Western liberal democracies leading the race for these technologies.

“By the US and the UK working together, we believe that we can stay absolutely clearly ahead of some of the rest of the global competition, and that would deliver benefits for both.

“So those are the sorts of things that the Prime Minister is really keen to explore on behalf of British people, but also for the global good as well.”

It would be “very, very odd” if the UK acted “unilaterally” when it comes to the deal over the Chagos Islands, a Cabinet minister has suggested.

Asked whether Donald Trump was in control of UK foreign policy after David Lammy said the deal would not go ahead without the backing of the US President, Science and Technology Secretary Peter Kyle said: “The Chagos Islands have always been a military base for the UK and the US.”

He told Times Radio: “Of course, it is absolutely essential in that particular instance that we partner very closely, and we engage very, very closely with the United States.”

He added: “The security relationship and the intelligence relationship between the US and the UK is a crucial part of our special relationship.

“It would be very, very odd if we acted unilaterally when it has actually always been a bilateral arrangement which has been pivoted into the Chagos Islands.”

It is “very important” that the US agrees to the deal between the UK and Mauritius over the Chagos Islands, a Cabinet minister has said. Science and Technology Secretary Peter Kyle was asked on Sky News whether Sir Keir Starmer could U-turn on the Chagos plans on his visit to Washington.

Mr Kyle said: “No. The deal we believe is on the table is a good deal. It hasn’t been published yet, so when we do get to the point where it is agreed, we will publish it in Parliament, allow Parliament to discuss and debate the deal that we believe is a good deal.”

He described the joint base on Diego Garcia as “part of our relationship” with the US, and added: “So it’s very important for us that the US actually agree the deal that we have sealed.

“Again, this will be part, perhaps, of the discussions that happened between the Prime Minister and the president today, and let’s see what comes out the other side.”

Lord Mandelson hailed Donald Trump as a “very consequential president” as the UK sought to avoid battles on tariffs with the White House.

The newly installed UK ambassador to the US said it was a “very significant moment for our lives, between our two countries and indeed for all the freedom-loving democracies in the world”.

Addressing a reception at his residence in Washington, the architect of New Labour said: “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.”

Tariffs imposed by Mr Trump on British steel are set to come into force in March, with the president also considering other import taxes as part of his drive to protect American businesses.

Lord Mandelson told guests including officials from the Trump administration and business leaders: “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.”