Trump to go EASY on Starmer during UK visit as PM fights for survival | UK | News

Donald Trump is set to show mercy to beleaguered Sir Keir Starmer during his explosive state visit starting Tuesday because the US President recognizes the embattled Prime Minister is completely “on the ropes”.

According to The Telegraph under-fire Sir Keir defiantly insisted on Monday he would never resign despite facing absolutely relentless scrutiny over what he knew and precisely when about Lord Mandelson’s shocking friendship with twisted Jeffrey Epstein.

The desperate Prime Minister delivered his first public comments since brutally axing his ambassador to the US, admitting in a devastating blow that he knew about a media approach over explosive emails between the Labour peer and the convicted paedophile before defending him at Prime Minister’s Questions. The news comes as Starmer was in new crisis as his top aide was forced to quit over offensive Diane Abbott emails.

The cornered Sir Keir appeared to throw his advisers under the bus, declaring that “in retrospect, of course I think it would be better if the detailed allegations that have been made in relation to Peter had been put in front of me before PMQs”.

However, he stopped short of naming any specific aides amid frenzied speculation he is desperately trying to protect Morgan McSweeney, his chief of staff, who pushed for Lord Mandelson to be appointed to the diplomatic role.

When pressed if he would resign if the party “felt it was necessary”, the defiant Prime Minister shot back: “No, because I’m absolutely clear what the task is in front of me.”

Fresh crisis rocks Downing Street

The Prime Minister endured yet another devastating blow on Monday when his chief strategist resigned over sexually explicit comments about Diane Abbott, the Left-wing Labour veteran.

He has endured an absolutely catastrophic start to September, losing Angela Rayner, his deputy prime minister, and then his UK ambassador a fortnight after declaring “phase two” of his tenure.

The embattled Sir Keir will face further brutal scrutiny over the Mandelson scandal on Tuesday as MPs will discuss his appointment and sacking in a three-hour Commons debate, just hours before Mr Trump touches down in the UK for a three-day state visit hosted by the King.

Trump shows mercy to struggling ally

Ahead of the trip, two former US officials with intimate White House connections told The Telegraph that Mr Trump was likely to go easy on Sir Keir, given the domestic political pressure.

One former official revealed: “This trip will be about the splendour of Windsor Castle, inspecting the troops, the big banquet. This is a big deal for him. And the plan is to keep it about that.”

They added that Mr Trump had acute political antennae for allies in trouble and knew that Starmer “was on the ropes”.

Steve Bannon, Mr Trump’s former chief strategist, said: “The president, I believe, knows this transcends day-to-day politics – this is about America and the Anglosphere – the special relationship – he has looked forward to this, especially the customs and traditions.

Visit ‘won’t focus on politics’

“I don’t think you will see much focus on ‘the politics of the moment’ – and I think it’s pretty evident he likes Sir Keir as a person.”

When questioned about the topics of talks, a senior US official told The Telegraph that freedom of speech was important to the administration but would not necessarily be on the agenda.

He said: “It is definitely an issue that we are thinking about. How that may or may not play into the bilateral discussion that will take place with the Prime Minister is yet unknown.”

One of the officials said that although Mr Trump was not planning to confront Mr Starmer over any differences in opinion or policy, plans could change rapidly with such an unpredictable president.

Pressure mounts over Epstein cover-up

The desperate Sir Keir is under intense pressure to explain what he knew when he expressed “confidence” in Lord Mandelson last Wednesday afternoon at Prime Minister’s Questions.

The cornered Prime Minister admitted on Monday that before mounting the defence, he was aware that Bloomberg had approached the Government about new Mandelson-Epstein emails.

Those shocking messages revealed that more than a decade ago, Lord Mandelson had urged Epstein to seek early release from jail after he was convicted of child sex offences.

However, Sir Keir has insisted that he did not read the content of the emails until Wednesday evening, leading to questions about why he had not been fully briefed. Lord Mandelson was finally sacked on Thursday morning.

‘I’m angry,’ says Starmer

Speaking on Monday, the furious Sir Keir said that he felt “angry” and “let down” by Lord Mandelson, insisting he would not have made the appointment had he known what he knows now.

He said: “I am angry. I don’t particularly think anger helps here, but I feel let down. I feel that the process was gone through and now information has come to light, which, had I known it at the time, I wouldn’t have appointed him.

“Had I known the nature and extent of the relationship, the fact that he was questioning and challenging the conviction. I’ve worked on violence against women for years, for girls, for many years. I know exactly how all this affects victims.”

MPs turn on embattled leader

But Labour MPs questioned why Sir Keir had not sought out the details of the new allegations before standing by Lord Mandelson on Wednesday.

One Labour MP told The Telegraph: “The buck stops at the top. If the Prime Minister knew about the emails but wasn’t briefed, he should have asked questions in detail. It would be better now to stop searching for a scapegoat, admit he got it wrong and seek to move on.”

Another said: “It really does seem like death by a thousand cuts. There’s an open sore and people are picking it. It’s a case of amputate quick, or cauterise, and if that means Morgan has to go, so be it.

“At the moment, it is only Keir Starmer’s force of personality that is keeping this government together.”