Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has arrived in Washington for talks with US President Donald Trump, discussions that could help shape the relationship between the UK and the US for the next four years.

In a short speech at the British ambassador’s residence he was keen to emphasise the things the two countries have in common.

“We want to work with you, we want to welcome you to Britain,” he said. “We want a new partnership, because our history shows that when we work together great things happen.”

On Wednesday, the prime minister had brushed aside growing tensions between the White House and Europe over Ukraine, saying he trusted Mr Trump and wanted the “special relationship” to go “from strength to strength”.

Speaking to reporters ahead of the White House meeting, Sir Keir insisted that the UK was working “in lockstep” with the president on the matter of Ukraine.

Asked if he could trust President Trump in light of what has happened in recent weeks, the prime minister replied “yes”.

“I’ve got a good relationship with him,” Sir Keir said.

“As you know, I’ve met him, I’ve spoken to him on the phone, and this relationship between our two countries is a special relationship with a long history, forged as we fought wars together, as we traded together.

“And as I say, I want it to go from strength to strength.”

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Even before Sir Keir arrived in Washington, the choreography of the trip hit a little turbulence as President Trump appeared to pour cold water on the prospect of a US military backstop for Ukraine as part of any peace deal – a key UK and European demand.

“I’m not going to make security guarantees beyond very much,” Mr Trump said at his first cabinet meeting on Wednesday.

“We’re going to have Europe do that because Europe is the next-door neighbour.”

His remarks seemed at odds with those made by the prime minister on the way to Washington as he reiterated how important a US military backstop was for Ukraine.

“We all want a peaceful outcome,” the prime minister said.

“It’s got to be a lasting peace, and that requires us to put in place an effective security guarantee.

“Exactly what the configuration of that is, exactly what the backstop is, is obviously the subject of intense discussion.”

He added: “But the reason I say the backstop is so important is that the security guarantee has to be sufficient to deter Putin from coming again because my concern is if there is a ceasefire without a backstop, it will simply give him the opportunity to wait and to come again because his ambition in relation to Ukraine is pretty obvious, I think, for all to see.”

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While European allies such as the UK and France are preparing to put peacekeeping troops on the ground to police the Ukraine-Russian borders, leaders have been clear that US support is essential to containing President Putin and securing that support is the key purpose of the prime minister’s trip to Washington.

President Zelenskyy has also demanded that clear guarantees of US military backing and security be part of his deal with the US on critical minerals, but a framework agreed this week by both sides did not include an explicit reference to any such support.

Ahead of the trip to Washington, the prime minister pledged to increase UK defence spending – a key ask of all NATO members by President Trump – and reiterated his commitment to putting British boots on the ground in Ukraine as he attempts to lower tensions between Europe and the US and demonstrate to President Trump that the UK is willing to play its part.

“When it comes to defence and security, we have for decades acted as a bridge because of the special relationship we have with the US and also our allegiance to our European allies,” Sir Keir said.

“I’ve been absolutely resolute that we’re not going to choose between one side of the Atlantic and the other. We will work with the US, we will work with our European allies, that’s what we’ve done for decades, and it’s what we’ll do whilst I’m prime minister.”

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Sir Keir also gave the British public a “message of reassurance” after his decision to accelerate defence spending in the face of Russian aggression, saying he had done it to “ensure their safety” and increased investment would bring opportunities.

“I want to reassure the British public that what we’re doing is to ensure their safety, their security and defence of our country.

“I want to also be clear that this is an opportunity because, as we increase defence spending, then that gives an opportunity for our industrial strategy, for jobs across the UK, good well-paid jobs in defence.”

Jeff Bezos, the owner of The Washington Post, has said the newspaper’s opinion section will write “every day in support and defence of… personal liberties and free markets” – appearing to align the publication with the US political right.

In an email to staff that he shared on X, Mr Bezos added: “We’ll cover other topics too of course, but viewpoints opposing those pillars will be left to be published by others.”

Marty Baron, a former editor of The Washington Post, has said he was “appalled” and “disgusted” by Mr Bezos’s decision.

“I couldn’t believe that he was doing that. Jeff Bezos has always talked about having a variety of points of view on the op-ed page and welcoming that,” he told Gillian Joseph on Sky News’ The World programme.

“This runs totally counter to that. So I was certainly disappointed, but really disgusted.”

“For decades, the Post has prided itself on running a whole variety of opinions on its opinion pages.

“But now what he’s signalled is that only one sort of opinion will be reflected on those pages. And that will be the opinion that he himself holds.”

Mr Baron said that he believes Mr Bezos is “yielding to pressure from Donald Trump”.

Referring to Mr Bezos’s other businesses Amazon and space company Blue Origin, Mr Baron said: “He realises how dependent his commercial interests are on the US government.

“He realises how vengeful Donald Trump is and he’s concerned about the potential consequences for his other businesses. He’s now prioritising his other commercial interests over the interests of the Washington Post.”

Mr Bezos, who also owns Amazon, has typically had a hands-off approach to the paper’s editorial policy since he bought the Post in 2013.

But this appeared to change during last year’s US presidential election when he blocked the Post’s editorial board from publishing an endorsement for Donald Trump’s rival Kamala Harris.

He also refused to publish a satirical cartoon in January that depicted Mr Bezos kneeling at the feet of a figure of Mr Trump offering him a bag of money.

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The newspaper lost 250,000 subscribers after Mr Bezos blocked the endorsement of Ms Harris, with several employees resigning over Mr Bezos’s direction in recent months.

The day after the election, Mr Bezos congratulated Trump “on an extraordinary political comeback and decisive victory”, while Amazon was among the companies that donated $1m to Trump’s inauguration fund in what critics say is an effort to curry favour with the president.

In Wednesday’s statement by Mr Bezos, he said the Post’s opinion editor David Shipley had “decided to step away” – but it is unclear if he resigned or was fired.

Mr Bezos said: “There was a time when a newspaper, especially one that was a local monopoly, might have seen it as a service to bring to the reader’s doorstep every morning a broad-based opinion section that sought to cover all views. Today, the internet does that job.

“I am of America and for America, and proud to be so. Our country did not get here by being typical.”

He added: “A big part of America’s success has been freedom in the economic realm and everywhere else. Freedom is ethical – it minimises coercion – and practical – it drives creativity, invention, and prosperity.

“I’m confident that free markets and personal liberties are right for America. I also believe these viewpoints are underserved in the current market of ideas and news opinion. I’m excited for us together to fill that void.”

Jeff Stein, chief economics reporter at the Post, wrote on X after the email was published: “Massive encroachment by Bezos into The Washington Post’s opinion section – makes clear dissenting views will not be published.

“I still have not felt encroachment on my journalism on the news side, but if Bezos tries interfering with the news side I will be quitting immediately and letting you know.”

Andrew Tate and his brother Tristan are reportedly on a flight from Romania to the United States after previously having travel restrictions imposed on them.

They took a private plane from the country to the US on Thursday morning, according to Romanian media.

G4media.ro reported the brothers were on a flight to Florida, citing “airport sources”.

Romanian prosecutors said they had approved a request from Andrew Tate to travel outside of the country, pending the outcome of a criminal investigation.

“The request to change the obligation of not leaving Romania was approved,” prosecutors said in a statement on
Thursday.

“All the other obligations have been maintained, including the requirement to check in with judicial authorities
every time they are called.”

It comes after the Trump administration lobbied their Romanian counterparts to ease the constraints, according to a report in The Financial Times last week.

The controversial influencer, 38, and his sibling, 36, are facing a series of criminal charges in the country.

The pair had been released from house arrest, but were not allowed to leave Romania and were required to check in with the police regularly.

They deny charges of human trafficking, sexual misconduct and money laundering, as well as starting an organised crime group.

Andrew Tate – a champion of Donald Trump – along with his brother are dual US and UK nationals.

The brothers are fighting a series of legal battles not just in Romania, but the UK and now also the US.

The Tate brothers have consistently denied any wrongdoing in connection with all the legal action taking place.

Sky News has approached a spokeswoman for the brothers but she has not yet confirmed their departure.

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