The 20-minute discussion between the pair on Sunday afternoon was ‘not a rosy affair’
Donald Trump was dismissive of Sir Keir Starmer’s attempts to explain why the UK did not join his Iran offensive in a testy private phone call between the leaders.
The 20-minute call between the pair on Sunday afternoon was “not a rosy affair” after Trump had spent the preceding days personally attacking the Prime Minister, The i Paper can reveal.
Starmer also raised King Charles’s planned state visit to the US as the Prime Minister sought to repair relations during the tense call.
Trump had publicly criticised Starmer’s initial refusal to allow the British military to support American strikes against Iran.
During the first call between the two leaders since the fallout, Trump was not interested in Starmer’s attempt to explain his reasoning for the decision, a source familiar with what was discussed said.
They said it was a tense conversation during which the King’s upcoming state visit to Washington was also discussed.
During the course of his premiership, Starmer has used Trump’s high regard for the Royal Family to attempt to smooth his sometimes fractious relationship with the US President.
And preparation for the King’s state visit to the United States is still going ahead despite the growing rift between the two leaders, The i Paper understands.
Labour and Liberal Democrat MPs had urged the Prime Minister to cancel Charles and Queen Camilla’s three-day trip to Washington in protest at the US President’s extraordinary criticism of Starmer’s response to the US-led war in Iran.
Trump’s comments about Starmer – including his jibe that the Prime Minister is “not Winston Churchill” – have risked the worst breakdown in UK-US relations for decades.
But the visit by the King and Queen at the end of April, timed to coincide with America’s 250th anniversary celebrations, is being seen in Whitehall as a golden opportunity to rekindle the Special Relationship.
Preparations for the 250th celebrations had fallen to the wayside this week, with focus on the situation in the Middle East, US sources said.
Trump has previously spoken of his admiration and respect for Charles, and the US President’s state visit to the UK last September, which was capped by a lavish banquet at Windsor Castle, was seen by Downing Street and the Palace as a success.
The return trip by the King and Queen to Washington has been long planned to take place at the end of April but is not yet formally confirmed.
State visits are normally carried out at the Government’s suggestion. Neither Buckingham Palace nor Downing Street would comment on those that have not been officially announced.
However, The i Paper understands that planning and preparation for the trip is going ahead “without deviation”.
Asked whether the King’s visit to the US would go ahead as planned, Starmer’s official spokesman said: “I think on this, I would just say that no state visit has been confirmed yet. It’s not something I want to get drawn on this morning.”
Meanwhile, the Prime Minister insisted the US and UK were “working together every single day, as they always have.”
He defended his response to the war after several days of criticism from Trump last week, in which the US President said he was “not happy with the UK” over Starmer’s initial decision to refuse use of UK bases, which led to US planes “flying many extra hours” to carry out strikes over the first two days of military action.
Trump later suggested the UK did not need to join a war that was “already won”.
On Monday, Starmer said: “In relation to Iran, the US are now using UK air bases under the agreement that we’ve reached. But more generally than that, intelligence is being shared every day in the region.
“We have our military personnel and US military personnel co-located in the same places, in the same bases, and both the US and the UK are working together and protecting those bases.”
Starmer said he had discussed the Iran conflict with Trump, and the work “we were doing together”. Discussions with US counterparts were “happening at all levels, all of the time, every single day. That’s the nature of the relationship,” the Prime Minister said.
Downing Street sources described Sunday’s call as constructive.
A readout said the two leaders did not reveal the tensions described by officials, merely stating the two had discussed cooperation in the Middle East and agreed to stay in touch.
Starmer also shared his condolences with the US President following the deaths of six American soldiers, a statement said.