By Elizabeth Piper and Steve Holland
LONDON (Reuters) -Prime Minister Keir Starmer hopes the pomp of a royal welcome for U.S. President Donald Trump on a state visit to Britain this week will offer him protection from possible pitfalls on anything from free speech to scandal over Jeffrey Epstein.
Trump arrives in Britain late on Tuesday, to be greeted over the next two days by King Charles and then Starmer on a visit expected to be heavy on red carpet treatment and the promotion of investment deals to draw the two nations’ economies closer.
Starmer, under pressure after being forced to sack Peter Mandelson as his ambassador to the U.S. over Epstein, wants the visit to underline that his close ties to Trump can benefit Britain.
TRANSATLANTIC TASKFORCE TO BE ANNOUNCED
To that end, finance minister Rachel Reeves will also hold talks with U.S. Trade Secretary Scott Bessent and they are expected to announce a ‘Transatlantic taskforce’ to deepen cooperation between two of the world’s largest financial centres.
Senior U.S. officials said on Monday deals worth more than $10 billion would be announced covering energy and technology.
“This historic second state visit is set to highlight and renew the special relationship between the United States and the United Kingdom,” a senior U.S. official said on Monday.
A spokesperson for Starmer told reporters on Monday that the prime minister “sees this state visit squarely through the lens of delivering for working people,” listing U.S. investment pledged over the weekend to create 1,800 jobs in Britain and a civil nuclear partnership which could lower energy prices.
Starmer could well do with the distraction when he hosts Trump at his Chequers country residence on Thursday and one of his main goals is to champion any wins secured during a visit which is also expected to draw protests.
Several of his Labour lawmakers are angry over his handling of the departures of both his deputy, Angela Rayner, and Mandelson, questioning his full-throated support for both before being forced to let them go.
After mis-steps over welfare reform, accepting gifts and tax restrictions on child benefits, several lawmakers are increasingly questioning the British leader’s judgment and political nous, especially at a time when Nigel Farage’s populist Reform UK party is running well ahead in the polls.
Perhaps the biggest pitfall is the likelihood of questions about the late sex offender Epstein. Starmer has justified his abrupt sacking of Mandelson last week by saying he was not aware of the depth of the ex-ambassador’s ties to the financier.
SCRUTINY OVER TRUMP’S RELATIONSHIP WITH EPSTEIN
But Trump’s relationship with Epstein has also come under scrutiny after Democrats in the House of Representatives made public a birthday letter he allegedly wrote to him – something the U.S. leader has denied writing.
Trump could also raise the issue of free speech in Britain, after some of his allies said its new online safety laws censored online debate and imposed costs on U.S. tech companies.
But the visit should also give him a diversion less than a week after a close ally, conservative activist Charlie Kirk, was shot dead at an outdoor event in Utah, a killing that has appeared to affect the president deeply.
On Wednesday, Trump and his wife, Melania, will be treated to British royal pageantry, including a carriage tour, a state banquet, a flypast by military aircraft and a gun salute.
A day later, Starmer welcomes Trump to Chequers, a 16th century manor house in the southern English countryside, to discuss investment, finalising promised lower tariffs for steel and aluminium, the so far frustrated efforts to end Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine and the situation in Gaza.
Starmer hopes to build on the relationship they have cultivated, which won him an economic deal on reducing Trump’s global tariffs.
BOTH WANT INVESTMENT BOOST
Both nations will have sizeable delegations and will be largely protected from the planned protests. Trump will also be joined by U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who will hold talks with Britain’s newly-appointed foreign minister, Yvette Cooper.
Business executives attending include Nvidia Corp CEO Jensen Huang and OpenAI’s Sam Altman.
Olivia O’Sullivan, a director at the Chatham House think tank, said Britain believed that by closely aligning with the U.S., it could stay “on the cutting edge of the kind of frontier technology,” which is dominated by the U.S. and China.
($1 = 0.7352 pounds)
(Reporting by Elizabeth Piper; Editing by Kate Holton and Alexandra Hudson)
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