Starmer-Trump LIVE: PM plays royal card to win Chagos deal support and no trade tariffs in White House summit

Donald Trump praised Sir Keir but said he was a tough negotiator.

He pledged to keep the relationship between the two countries very strong.

Sir Keir Starmer has said he is “very proud” of free speech in the UK following criticism from US Vice-President JD Vance.

Mr Vance said during a speech at the Munich Security Conference earlier this month that European governments, including the UK’s, had retreated from their values and ignored voter concerns on migration and free speech.

Sitting alongside the Prime Minister and Donald Trump, Mr Vance responded to a question about these remarks: “Look, I said what I said, which is that we do have, of course, a special relationship with our friends in the UK, and also some of our European allies.

“But we also know that there have been infringements on free speech that actually affect not just the British – of course what the British do in their own country is up to them – but also affect American technology companies and, by extension, American citizens, so that is something that we’ll talk about today at lunch.”

Sir Keir responded: “Well, we’ve had free speech for a very, very long time in the United Kingdom and it will last for a very, very long time.

“Certainly, we wouldn’t want to reach across US citizens, and we don’t, and that’s absolutely right, but in relation to free speech in the UK I’m very proud of our history there.”

Donald Trump said a minerals deal with Ukraine was the security guarantee Kyiv needs against Russia, brushing aside a plea from Prime Minister Keir Starmer for a commitment of more US military support.

Sir Keir had turned on the charm, saying peace in Ukraine had only become possible because of Mr Trump.

Before the meeting, the prime minister had argued that there could be no long-term peace in Ukraine without firm US security guarantees – an argument Trump all but dismissed.

“We are a backstop because we’ll be over there, we’ll be working,” as a result of the economic partnership, Trump said. “We’re going to have a lot of people over there.”

Donald Trump has suggested the presence of US businesses in Ukraine under a deal with Volodymyr Zelensky would act as an effective “backstop” against another Russian invasion if a ceasefire is agreed.

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has already said he is prepared to deploy British troops in a force to safeguard any peace deal, but only if the US offers security guarantees to European soldiers.

Asked whether he could see a situation where US forces could be deployed as a backstop, the US president said: “Well, there is a backstop. First, you have European countries, because they’re right there, we’re very far away, we have an ocean between us.

“But we want to make sure it works. So, I don’t know when you say backstop you mean a backstop psychologically, militarily or what.

“We are a backstop because we’ll be over there, we’ll be working in the country. That’s a great thing economically for them because when you talk about economic development we’re going to have a lot of people over there.”

Asked if the US would aid British peacekeepers if they were attacked by Russia, Mr Trump said: “I’ve always found about the British. They don’t need much help … they can take care of themselves … it sounds like it’s evasive but it’s not evasive.”

Sir Keir Starmer corrected Donald Trump when the President claimed Europe but not the US was getting back some of the cash it has provided to Ukraine.

Mr Trump was asked by reporters what message he would send to Volodymyr Zelensky to assure him Ukraine’s sovereignty would not be at threat.

The President replied: “He’s coming, perhaps he’s already on his way, and we’re going to be signing the deal together, probably in front of the media, and we’re going to be having a good conversation. No, we want to work with him, President Zelensky.”

Mr Trump said he had a “very good relationship” with the Ukrainian leader, adding: “It maybe got a little bit testy because we wanted to have a little bit of what the European nations had. You know, they they get their money back by giving money, we don’t get the money back. Biden made a deal. He put in 350 billion dollars and I thought it was a very unfair situation.”

Sir Keir intervened to say: “We’re not getting all of ours. I mean, quite a bit of ours was gifted. It was given. There were some loans, but mainly it was gifted actually.”

It comes after French President Emmanuel Macron corrected Mr Trump on the same point during his visit to Washington earlier this week.