Friend or foe? Starmer now walks a tightrope between Europe and US

No sooner had the PM charmed the president in the Oval Office than consensus over Ukraine - and the future of Nato - was starting to fall apart

- Toby Helm, David Smith, Luke Harding & Jennifer Rankin

Even as Keir Starmer and his entourage heaved sighs of relief and tried not to grin too broadly as they filed out of the Oval Office after the prime minister's meeting with Donald Trump, there were some in British circles who were, even then, anxious.

The invitation from King Charles for a second state visit had been handed over to Trump in person and opened before the cameras. Trump, for once, had seemed genuinely lost for words. Starmer had at one point put his hand on Trump's shoulder like a close friend or relative to emphasise their closeness as the UK delegation looked on, stony-faced but amazed.

In the immediate, choreographed sense, Trump had given Starmer, who had prepared the ground well by committing to increase UK defence expenditure, everything that he could have wished for – and more. He had praised the PM's strong negotiating stance on tariffs, lauded the special relationship, and even admired Starmer's "beautiful accent."

But some people with knowledge of Trump's behaviour down the years, and how he veers from one mood and modus operandi to another within hours or even minutes, noted that some very important things had been left worryingly unclear.

There were areas where detail was obviously lacking. One was over Europe and Ukraine's demands that the US must provide a security backstop in the event of any Trump-brokered peace deal. "There was nothing on that. Starmer got nothing," said one UK source.

It was this same glaring absence that would be exposed less than 24 hours later in another meeting in the Oval Office that went the very opposite of smoothly. This time it led to an explosive row between Trump and Ukraine's president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, sitting on the same White House chairs where Starmer and Trump had bonded.