From Epstein to Gaza, awkward questions expected at big beautiful Trump-Starmer press conference

BRITISH PRIME MINISTER Keir Starmer will host Donald Trump at his country home today, as Starmer continues his campaign to woo the US president during his unprecedented second state visit to Britain.

Starmer is hoping to keep the focus of the visit on an influx of American investment into the UK, all while both his Government and the Trump administration are plagued by scandals related to the paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein.

While there will be no public-facing engagements for Trump during the visit, there will be a press conference this afternoon.

This press conference with the two leaders could prove to be the moment of most jeopardy for ensuring the state visit concludes smoothly, as questions about Peter Mandelson and Trump’s links to the late Epstein will likely arise.

Trump has struggled to shake off stories about his ties to his former friend Epstein, who died in prison in 2019 before his trial for sexual exploitation.

A tranche of documents recently released by US legislators included an alleged letter from the president to Epstein to celebrate his 50th birthday.

The White House initially said the letter didn’t exist and has continued to deny that it is authentic.

Starmer has also been affected, dismissing Mandelson following revelations about the envoy’s close ties to the sex offender.

Mandelson was sacked last week after emails were published showing that he sent supportive messages to Epstein, even as he faced jail for sex offences.

Mandelson is also reported to have told Epstein, “I think the world of you”, the day before the disgraced financier began his sentence for soliciting prostitution from a minor in June 2008.

And on Tuesday night, protesters projected images of Trump and Epstein onto Windsor Castle.

Differences of opinion over the situation in the Middle East may also prove difficult for the two men.

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Starmer has delayed his plans to recognise a Palestinian state until after Trump’s visit concludes to avoid open disagreement over the matter, the Times reported.

Reports have suggested Starmer will recognise a Palestinian state over the weekend after Trump concludes his state visit.

Overnight, Starmer announced the prospect of some £150 billion (€173bn) flowing into the UK from big US firms such as Blackstone and Palantir.

And as Starmer and Trump meet at Chequers – the Prime Minister’s estate in Buckinghamshire – they also plan to sign a technology prosperity deal, touted as offering major investment by US tech firms in Britain, that will help to develop its AI capabilities.

Questions have, however, begun to arise over what American companies may want in return, with suggestions a tax on digital services – which largely impacts on US companies – could be reduced or eliminated.

Hopes that a deal aimed at reducing steel tariffs on British imports to the US could be hammered out during the state visit, meanwhile, appear to have fallen by the wayside, media reports have suggested.

Yesterday evening, Trump was the guest of honour at a lavish state banquet in Windsor Castle, hosted by Britain’s King Charles.

There he paid tribute to America’s relationship with the UK, saying the word “special does not begin to do it justice”, and claimed the nations were “two notes in one chord”.

Among those at the banquet were the chiefs of major American firms, including big names from the tech world Sam Altman of OpenAI, Tim Cook of Apple, and Jensen Huang, the founder of Nvidia.

Media mogul Rupert Murdoch was also a guest, despite being sued by the US president over a report linking him to Epstein.

Yesterday, thousands marched through London in protest against the US president’s state visit.

YouGov polling suggests nearly half of the British population (45%) believe it was wrong to invite Trump for the visit, while 30% think it was right to do so.

-With additional reporting from Diarmuid Pepper