PM banks on £150bn investment to placate critics of Trump visit

Keir Starmer sought to navigate a politically treacherous state visit by Donald Trump by announcing £150bn of US investment in the UK last night, while the president was kept safely in Windsor Castle's confines.

- Daniel Boffey, Eleni Courea, Michael Savage

As thousands of protesters voiced their anger in London at a Stop Trump Coalition protest, the US president was escorted by the king and queen through a first day that ended in a state banquet but kept him out of reach of his critics.

The recent sacking of Peter Mandelson as British ambassador to Washington over his relationship with the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein has loomed large over the two-day visit, with Trump himself facing questions over his dealings with the disgraced financier.

With Downing Street eager to make the best of what could prove to be a difficult few days, Starmer announced overnight what was said to be the largest ever investment package in the UK.

Of the £150bn announced, £90bn was a commitment from the private equity giant Blackstone to invest in the UK over the next decade. That was on top of £10bn the company committed to an artificial intelligence data centre earlier this year.

Other announcements include £3.9bn from the investment firm Prologis and £1.5bn from the tech company Palantir. The government said the package would create 7,600 high-quality jobs in sectors including clean energy and life sciences.

Starmer said that "with friends like the US" the UK could "help shape the future for generations to come and make people across the country better off", adding: "These investments are a testament to Britain's economic strength and a bold signal that our country is open, ambitious and ready to lead." Downing Street sources said the £150bn of inward investment was higher than the figure for the whole of last year and that the prime minister was feeling "very upbeat" because it exceeded expectations.

The announcement followed a separate pledge of billions of pounds of investment from US tech firms, including from Microsoft, which has announced a $30bn (£22bn) spending package its largest outside the US.