Keir Starmer's high stakes talks with Donald Trump - 'most consequential meeting' since WW2

Keir Starmer will fly into the heart of a storm when he travels to Washington for talks with Donald Trump in what is seen as one of the most important UK-US meetings since the Second World War.

The fate of Ukraine and broader European security hangs in the balance after the mercurial President tore up decades of US policy in his quest to broker a deal with Russian tyrant Vladimir Putin. This first visit was always going to be a crucial moment for the Prime Minister but the stakes are now sky-high after the US President spent last week firing attacks at Ukrainian President Voldymyr Zelensky and threatening to abandon Europe.

Sir Peter Westmacott, a former British Ambassador to the United States, said it was likely to be "one of the most consequential meetings of a British Prime Minister and President that we have had since the Second World War".

Here's what you need to know ahead of Thursday's crunch talks.

The first talks between a US President and a UK PM in the Oval Office are always a closely watched affair. Diplomats have been locked in talks for months to get Mr Starmer into the White House, to shore up the so-called special relationship between the US and the UK.

But events have spiralled as an unpredictable Trump issues a blitzkrieg of orders on everything from ending the Ukraine war to slapping brutal tariffs on UK trade. This is Mr Starmer's best opportunity yet to develop a relationship with the US President and try to persuade him to step back from the brink.

What's on the agenda?

Top of the list is the war with Ukraine. Mr Trump stunned the world by deciding to kick start peace talks with Russia, sending senior officials to Saudi Arabia last week to meet Russian representatives - paving the way for a potential meeting between the US President and Putin. He also branded President Zelensky a "dictator" and parroted Russian criticism about the fact that elections have been suspended due to the war.

There are also question marks over US commitment to broader European security. The US was a founding member of NATO and played a major role in maintaining peace in Europe since the end of Second World War. But Mr Trump has been ranting about how European countries need to step up - and saying the US is spending too much on supporting Ukraine. It is unclear how much support the US would give to maintaining a peace deal if one is reached.

Downing Street sees the meeting as a critical chance to focus on the bigger picture of national security and to persuade Mr Trump that Europe accepts his demand to do more on defence. The PM is likely to discuss the UK's commitment to ramp up defence spending to 2.5% of GDP - which the Government has not yet set a timeframe for.

The crisis in the Middle East will be on the agenda. Mr Trump sparked widespread alarm by suggesting that 2.2million Palestinians can be relocated to other countries so the Gaza Strip could be turned into the "Riviera of the Middle East". There is also the fragile ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, which is nearing the end of its first phase.

Mr Trump's threat to slap punitive tariffs on trade will also be at the forefront of the PM's mind. He has been threatening to impose “reciprocal” tariffs - meaning the US would put the same taxes on imports that US goods face in other countries. Mr Trump has also announced plans to slap 25% tariffs on steel imports, which experts say will be "devastating".

It seems unlikely they will discuss Elon Musk's repeated attacks on the UK Government, which have been casting a dark cloud over relations with Washington. The tech billionaire, who is a close ally of Mr Trump, spent the first few weeks of January stirring up online anger about grooming gangs in the UK, prompting Mr Starmer to hit back at vile slurs about Home Office Minister Jess Phillips.

How will Keir Starmer play it?

It will be a high-wire act for Mr Starmer. But anyone hoping Keir Starmer will have a Love Actually moment will be disappointed. The famous scene where Hugh Grant, as a fictional British PM, socks it to a sleazy US President during a press conference is very unlikely - as much as some in Labour might wish it.

The PM is expected to take a diplomatic approach, appealing to Mr Trump's ego and spelling out how things will benefit the US. No10 want him to cast himself as a "bridge" between Europe and the US, the sort of man Trump can do business with. Insiders are conscious that Mr Trump sees things primarily as wins and losses - and everything needs to be viewed through an "America First" lens.

But while Mr Starmer isn't getting drawn into public rows, he has been firm on the UK's support for Ukraine. Downing Street is clear that he will take a tough message, in line with his public insistence that Kyiv must be part of the discussions.

The PM also holds a couple of trump cards. The US President's love of the Royal Family is well known - and another state visit will be an enticing prospect. There is also the possibility of allowing him to address Parliament, after he was blocked from doing so by the previous Commons Speaker John Bercow in 2017. Sir Lindsay Hoyle, the current Speaker, is not expected to oppose the idea.

You'd be hard-pressed to find a more unlikely pairing but Mr Trump and Mr Starmer appear to be getting on, at least in public. The US President has been surprisingly warm about the PM, repeatedly calling him a "nice guy". Last month, Mr Trump said the PM had done a "very good job so far". He said Mr Starmer was "a liberal, which is a bit different from me," adding: "I may not agree with his philosophy, but I have a very good relationship with him."

They have also spoken on the phone several times, including a surprise call when Mr Starmer was meeting with Mark Burnett, the special envoy to the UK.

But in a sign of his unpredictability, Mr Trump took a swipe at the PM and French President Emmanuel Macron last week, who he claimed "haven't done anything" to end the war in Ukraine.

Mr Starmer met Mr Trump for the first time in September, where they had two-hour dinner at lavish Trump Tower in New York, joined by Foreign Secretary David Lammy. The meeting appeared to go well, as Mr Lammy later said he was offered a second helping of chicken by the US President.

As the US President isn't one to mince his words, it'll be clear immediately whether it has gone well.