Like most of Friday’s papers, the Daily Mail is dominated by the “unlikely bromance” that was on display between Donald Trump and Sir Keir Starmer when the pair met at the White House. The first meeting between the two leaders since the US president’s latest election win appears to have been a very cordial one.
The i newspaper hails “charmer Starmer” and says a “jovial” president showered praise on the prime minister. The pair discussed Ukraine, the Chagos Islands deal and a future UK-US trade deal during their private meetings in Washington.
Starmer’s so-called Trump card was handing the president a letter from King Charles III inviting him for a state visit. Trump was afforded the honour during his first term under the late Queen Elizabeth II but a second under another monarch has been described as “unprecedented”.
A “love-in” is how the Sun describes the Trump-Starmer meeting. Its front page carries a picture of the moment Starmer handed him the King’s personal invitation in full view of the cameras, which the paper says left the president “thrilled”.
The Financial Times leads on the pair’s negotiations over future security arrangements for Ukraine. The paper says Trump dashed Starmer’s hopes for an American “backstop” for any European peacekeeping force, something the prime minister has been pushing for.
However, the Guardian has a slightly different take. It focuses on Trump’s remarks that the presence of US workers in Ukraine will, in effect, act as a backstop deterring Russia from invading again. Trump is pushing for American firms to have access to Ukraine’s mineral mining industry.
The Daily Telegraph leads on Trump backing the UK government over its plans to hand sovereignty of the Chagos Islands – where a UK-US military base is located – to Mauritius, in return for a deal securing the site’s long-term future. British opposition parties have opposed the deal but Trump described its terms as “powerful” and said it “doesn’t sound bad”.
The Times focuses on the trade talks between the pair, with Trump saying negotiations on a “new economic deal” had begun and could be agreed “very quickly”. The paper says that will come as a relief to Starmer, who had feared US tariffs could hamper his government’s attempt to grow the economy.
Mystery surrounds the death of actor Gene Hackman, who was found dead at his New Mexico home alongside pianist wife Betsy Arakawa. Police say they were not injured but the circumstances are “suspicious enough” to warrant further investigation.
And finally, the Daily Star leads on the news that the creators of cartoon Peppa Pig have revealed the mother character is having a baby.
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