An under siege Keir Starmer is facing a showdown with Donald Trump over “free speech” in the UK which could derail crucial talks during the US president’s state visit.
Senior Washington sources have said that free speech is now top of the US president’s agenda when he visits Chequers on Thursday for talks with the UK prime minister at the end of his trip.
The issue could derail hopes by the UK government to get a deal to remove steel tariffs and will take up time they want to use to discuss the increasingly complex picture on the international stage with the wars in Ukraine and Gaza.
It will not though wreck an expected announcement on a major new tech partnership between the two countries partly because insiders claim “Trump needs Britain to succeed”.
But Mr Starmer is now facing the talks without his key man after sacking Peter Mandelson as ambassador to the US over revelations about his relationship with the disgraced former financier and convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein.
Mr Trump lands tomorrow evening with the UK government in chaos and in danger of imploding, so Mr Starmer will be looking for help from the president to provide him with a boost.
He is due at events with King Charles at Windsor Castle including a gun salute, and a carriage procession through the estate. Mr Trump is also due to lay a wreath at the tomb of the late Queen Elizabeth II and the events will end with a state banquet hosted by the king.
On Thursday, Mr Trump and his wife Melania will head to Chequers for talks with the prime minister with trade, future relationship between the two countries, international affairs and free speech all on the agenda. A source close to Mr Trump revealed that he “berated Keir Starmer over free speech” when the two held talks during the summer at the US president’s Turnberry golf resort.
The source said: “There is absolutely no doubt that free speech is going to be one of if not the top issue when the two hold talks.”
After the far-right “Unite the Kingdom” march over the weekend, rows over the imprisonment of former childcare worker Lucy Connolly over her tweet calling for migrant hotels to be burnt down, and the arrest of Irish comedy writer Graham Linehan at Heathrow Airport after flying in from the US, the state of free speech in the UK is now considered a major US concern.
There was already anger at the impact of the UK’s Online Safety Act in the US and recent evidence in Congress by Reform UK leader Nigel Farage calling for the administration to punish the UK over free speech attacks has “enflamed the issue”, one source said.
The Trump administration and people in the MAGA movement do not believe people should be criminalised for transphobic, racist or extremist tweets.
Previously, it was revealed how vice-president JD Vance wanted guarantees on free speech to be part of the trade deal with the UK.
Mr Vance and other members of the administration have also objected to protections for abortion clinics in the UK including the arrest of anti-abortion activists praying outside.
A Washington insider with close links to the administration added that the row over free speech in the UK had now become a major talking point in US politics which is unusual because foreign issues rarely do.
Free speech is getting traction as Americans learn more and more about what is happening in your country
They said: “Free speech is getting traction as Americans learn more and more about what is happening in your country. I attended a dinner on Monday and it was a major topic of discussion.
“It is a major concern with DC opinion elites, members of the press and White House staff.”
Read more on Irish Independent
