With scandals testing the British PM’s grip on power, officials fear a press event dominated by the disgraced financier could irk Trump
Prime Minister Keir Starmer was elected last July promising a “quieter” politics after years of chaos and scandal under the Conservatives. Losing two senior members of the UK government to scandal in less than a week sees the premier facing a charge he could never have imagined: that his Labour administration is no less noisy than the Tories.
That is the perilous domestic subtext as US President Donald Trump flies to Britain for a historic second state visit on Tuesday.
The timing of the three-day trip could barely be more awkward for Starmer, coming just days after he sacked his ambassador to Washington, Peter Mandelson, following a report which revealed his relationship with paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein lasted longer than previously known. The prospect of a joint news briefing in which Trump and Starmer are repeatedly asked about Epstein is giving UK government officials nightmares, one said.
The president arrives in a country that appears in permanent political crisis. The departures of Mandelson and former deputy prime minister Angela Rayner in a tax scandal a week prior have left serious questions about Starmer’s judgment and even sparked speculation that he could face a leadership challenge.
