Sir Keir Starmer will travel to Washington this coming week for a bilateral meeting with President Biden.
The trip to the White House, on Friday, will be the prime minister’s second visit since he was elected in July.
In a statement, the White House said the leaders would focus on “global issues of mutual interest”.
“The leaders will have an in-depth discussion… including continuing robust support to Ukraine in its defence against Russian aggression, securing a hostage release and ceasefire deal to end the war in Gaza, protecting international shipping in the Red Sea from Iranian-backed Houthi threats, and advancing a free and open Indo-Pacific,” the White House statement said.
It continued: “They will also discuss opportunities to strengthen US-UK cooperation to secure supply chains and increase climate resilience. President Biden will underscore the importance of continuing to strengthen the special relationship between the United States and the United Kingdom.”
The UK is heavily invested in several live geopolitical challenges which all predate Sir Keir’s premiership.
The hope, according to sources, is that mutual progress can be made on the various challenges with the outgoing Biden administration.
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Britain and the US have cooperated closely on Ukraine, leading a Western alliance that has, at times, shown some reluctance in its continued support against Russian aggression.
On protecting international shipping in the Red Sea against continued Houthi attacks from Yemen, the UK has been a key partner for the US in a mission that’s shown limited success.
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The potential for some divergence between the two leaders could come over Gaza.
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2:58
July: Starmer backs ‘special relationship’
Last week, the UK announced that it would suspend the export of some arms to Israel because of the risk that they could be used in non-compliance with international humanitarian law.
US government lawyers have not come to the same conclusions about how Israel is using weapons in Gaza but this week a State Department spokesman said the UK was making a sovereign decision that it was entirely entitled to make.
Notably, however, a foreign policy advisor to Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump struck a different tone.
Robert O’Brien – who is likely to be in a Trump White House if he wins in November – said that a UK-US special relationship would be under strain if the UK restricted weapons sales to Israel.
The relationship between Mr Biden and Sir Keir reflects their political alignment. During his first visit to the White House, just days after taking office, President Biden, who was then the Democratic candidate for November’s election, spoke warmly of the much coveted “special relationship”.
“I kind of see you guys as the knot tying the transatlantic alliance together, the closer you are with Europe. We know where you are, you know where we are,” Mr Biden told Sir Keir.
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How does the US election work?
No meetings have been announced between Sir Keir and vice president Kamala Harris, the new Democratic Party candidate for the November election, though it’s possible she will be part of the bilateral meetings with President Biden.
A significant moment would be a meeting between Sir Keir and Mr Trump.
No plans have been announced but such a meeting would be seen as diplomatically savvy, especially if a Harris meeting materialises, and it would not be without precedent.
Former prime minister David Cameron met Republican nominee Mitt Romney in July 2012 and Gordon Brown met Barack Obama when he was the Democratic Party candidate in 2008.
Sir Keir’s visit comes at the end of a week in which US secretary of state Antony Blinken will meet Foreign Secretary David Lammy in London.
Gaza will be a key focus but Mr Blinken will travel with ambassador Katherine Tai, the US trade representative.
Trade and technology are set to be on the agenda too.
The UK is still seeking to formalise a post-Brexit trade partnership with the US.
Donald Trump, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor and Bill Clinton are among high-profile figures pictured in a new selection of photos from Jeffrey Epstein’s estate, released by Democrats in Congress.
This article contains images of a sexual nature that some people may find offensive.
Sky News has identified all of the people whose faces have not been redacted in the images. They have been contacted for comment.
There is no suggestion of wrongdoing on the part of those pictured and the context surrounding the 19 photos is not known.
In one image, the US president is seen with the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and Belgian model Ingrid Seynhaeve.
Image: Donald Trump, Belgian model Ingrid Seynhaeve and Jeffrey Epstein. Pic: @OversightDems
Two further photos show Mr Trump with women whose faces are redacted.
One image is black and white and shows him with six women; three on either side of him. The other is out of focus, and shows him sitting alongside an unidentified woman.
Image: Mr Trump alongside six unidentified women Pic: @OversightDems
Image: Mr Trump with an unidentified woman. Pic: @OversightDems
Speaking after Epstein took his own life in jail in 2019, Mr Trump admitted knowing Epstein, but added: “I had a falling out with him. I haven’t spoken to him in 15 years. I was not a fan of his, that I can tell you.”
In July, the White House also released a statement saying Epstein had been banned from Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida for acting like a “creep”.
Image: Bill Clinton with Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell, as well as Jimmy Buffett and Mr Buffett’s wife Jane Slagsvol. Pic: @OversightDems
In another photo released by Democrats, Bill Clinton is seen with Epstein and convicted sex offender Ghislaine Maxwell, as well as singer Jimmy Buffett and Mr Buffett’s wife Jane Slagsvol.
In 2019, a spokesperson for the former US president said he had “not spoken to Epstein in well over a decade” and “knows nothing about the terrible crimes”.
Further images show Epstein with long-time Trump ally, Steve Bannon. In one he sits across from him at his desk, while in another the men are seen side-by-side taking a selfie in a mirror.
Image: Jeffrey Epstein with long-time Trump ally Steve Bannon. Pic: @OversightDems
Image: Steve Bannon and Jeffrey Epstein. Pic: @OversightDems
Hollywood filmmaker Woody Allen appears in four of the photos; two of them taken with Epstein.
Image: Woody Allen with Jeffrey Epstein and an unidentified woman. Pic: @OversightDems
Image: Woody Allen and Jeffrey Epstein. Pic: @OversightDems
In another, Allen is photographed with Bannon, while one more shows him sat with Bill Clinton’s former treasury secretary, Larry Summers, and his wife Elisa New, seemingly on a private plane.
Image: Woody Allen and Steve Bannon. Pic: @OversightDems
Image: Bill Clinton’s former treasury secretary, Larry Summers, and his wife Elisa New. Pic: @OversightDems
Speaking to The Times in September, Allen said he had been to dinner at Epstein’s home, but suggested he was unaware of the nature of his crimes.
Allen said: “He told us he’d been in jail and that he had been – I can’t remember the word – but that he’d been falsely put in jail in some way.”
Meanwhile, Summers told the Harvard Crimson that his former association with Epstein was “a major error of judgement”.
Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, then Prince Andrew, is seen just once, alongside tech billionaire Bill Gates. Epstein is not pictured. The original photo at a malaria summit also shows the then Prince Charles but he is cropped out of the version released by the Democrats. It is not clear why the picture has been included in the Epstein files.
Image: Bill Gates with Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, then a prince. Pic: @OversightDems
Image: Bill Gates talks to the then Prince Andrew and then Prince Charles during a malaria summit in London on April 18, 2018. Pic: Reuters
Andrew relinquished his titles in October amid continued controversy over his friendship with Epstein, but said at the time: “I vigorously deny the accusations against me”.
Gates himself appears twice more, once alongside Epstein’s long-time pilot, Larry Visoski, and once in a framed photo which appears in an image above a black cabinet.
Image: Bill Gates and Epstein’s longtime pilot, Larry Visoski. Pic: @OversightDems
Image: A photo released in the Epstein files shows Bills Gates’s picture framed above a cabinet. Pic: @OversightDems
In 2021, the billionaire told the New York Times he had met Epstein to discuss philanthropy and Gates’s spokeswoman said he regretted ever meeting him.
A year later, Gates told the BBC: “I made a mistake ever meeting with Jeffrey Epstein.
“Any meeting I had with him could be viewed as almost condoning his evil behaviour. So, that was a mistake.”
Another photo shows British entrepreneur Richard Branson with Epstein and Dean Kamen, an American engineer, inventor, and businessman.
Image: Richard Branson with Epstein and Dean Kamen. Pic: @OversightDems
Epstein is seen with his lawyer, Alan Dershowitz, in one more image.
Image: Epstein with his lawyer, Alan Dershowitz. Pic: @OversightDems
Dershowitz said he fell out with Epstein after making a plea deal for him in 2007, leading to his conviction.
He told the Harvard Crimson in November: “Jeffrey Epstein despised me after I had made the deal. Epstein and I did not get along personally after I represented him and helped get the deal.”
A number of images of a sexual nature also appear in the cache.
One shows a bowl of novelty condoms with a caricature of Trump’s face, each one bearing the phrase “I’m HUUUUGE!” A handwritten sign reads: “Trump condom $4.50.”
Image: Pic: @OversightDems
Various sex toys are also featured in pictures, including a glove with ribbed fingers, and a safety notice from a “jawbreaker” gag warning of the risk of injury or death.
Image: Pic: @OversightDems
Image: Pic: @OversightDems
The images were released by Democrats on the House Oversight Committee, which obtained them from the Epstein estate.
Democrats said the files included tens of thousands of photos and said more would be released in the coming days.
They were described as “images of the wealthy and powerful men who spent time with Jeffrey Epstein” and “photographs of women and Epstein properties”.
A spokesperson for the Republican-led House Oversight Committee accused the Democrats of “cherry-picking photos and making targeted redactions” to create a “false narrative” about Donald Trump.
“Democrats’ hoax against President Trump has been completely debunked,” they added.
The man accused of killing right-wing influencer Charlie Kirk has appeared in person at court for the first time.
Tyler Robinson, 22, from Utah, is charged with aggravated murder in relation to the shooting of Kirk on the Utah Valley University campus in Orem.
Image: Charlie Kirk pictured in December 2024. Pic: Reuters
Video of the incident showed Kirk, 31, and a staunch ally of Donald Trump, reaching up with his right hand after a gunshot was heard as blood came out from the left side of his neck. He died shortly after.
Prosecutors plan to seek the death penalty.
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How the Charlie Kirk shooting unfolded
On Wednesday’s appearance at Fourth District Court in Provo, Utah, Robinson arrived in court with restraints on his wrists and ankles and wearing a dress shirt, tie and slacks.
According to the Associated Press, he smiled at family members sitting in the front row of the courtroom, where his mother teared up and wiped her eyes with a tissue.
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He made previous court appearances via video or audio feed from jail.
Image: Pic: AP
The shooting happened during Kirk’s “prove me wrong” series, which saw the father of two visit campuses and debate contentious subjects; in this case, he was discussing mass shootings.
Prosecutors say the bullet which struck Kirk’s neck “passed closely to several other individuals”, including the person questioning him as part of the event.
Image: President Trump comforts Charlie Kirk’s widow Erika at his memorial service in Arizona in September. Pic: Reuters
A charging document about Robinson from September includes incriminating texts sent between the alleged shooter and his roommate after Kirk’s death.
Judge Tony Graf also heard arguments on Wednesday about whether cameras and media should be allowed in the courtroom, with Robinson’s lawyers and the Utah County Sheriff’s Office asking for them to be banned.
Mr Kirk’s widow, Erika Kirk, has called for full transparency and said “we deserve to have cameras in there”.
The judge has already made allowances to protect Robinson’s presumption of innocence before a trial, agreeing that the case has drawn “extraordinary” public attention