Sir Keir Starmer is facing questions over Donald Trump’s threats of aggressive trade tariffs, as the prime minister prepares for a PMQs clash with Kemi Badenoch.
Experts told The Independent this week that Sir Keir has been left “walking a tightrope” between the US and Europe, despite signs of optimism as Mr Trump claimed the UK was “out of line” on trade, “but I’m sure that one … I think that one can be worked out”.
Yet there were fewer signals of goodwill from the White House over the UK’s controversial plans to hand over the Chagos Islands to Mauritius, with Mr Trump’s team warning on Tuesday that the US president may still veto such a move.
Wednesday’s PMQs clash comes amid pressure on both leaders over the threat from Reform UK, after Nigel Farage’s party polled higher than both Labour and the Tories for the first time.
The PM is also facing scrutiny after allegations emerged that his voice coach Leonie Mellinger travelled between Covid tiers to visit him at Labour’s office in London on Christmas Eve in 2020. Both have denied wrongdoing.