'SPECIAL RELATIONSHIP'
Moment Keir Starmer speaks to Joe Biden in historic phone call as US President hails ‘one a hell of a victory’ for PM
The pair also discussed their commitment to protecting the Good Friday Agreement
THIS is the historic moment Sir Keir Starmer speaks to US President Joe Biden on the phone after becoming Britain's new Prime Minister.
Biden congratulates the PM saying the win is "one hell of a victory" before insisting the two countries will continue their ";special relationship".
5
5
5
Sir Keir told Biden - who was mid-air on Air Force One at the time - that he was "looking forward" to meeting him face-to-face at the Nato anniversary summit next week in Washington, DC.
It will mark the newly-minted PM's debut on the world stage and it will be the first time he meets with other leaders from across the globe.
Biden, who has witnessed four UK prime ministers during his presidency, responded: “I’m looking forward to it as well. There’s no doubt that under your leadership our two countries are going to continue our special relationship.
“We’re working together on just about every issue, supporting Ukraine, managing the competition with China, advancing cooperation in the Indo-Pacific with Aukus.”
read more on Keir Starmer
Keir answered: “The special relationship is obviously the bedrock, always has been, for our defence, for our security and prosperity, which obviously is central to our missions for government.”
A readout from Downing Street shows the pair also discussed their commitment to protecting the Good Friday Agreement – a cause close to the US president’s heart – but this was not included in the edited video clip of the conversation.
Also on Friday, David Lammy, the Foreign Secretary, discussed support for Ukraine and bringing about a ceasefire in Gaza with his US counterpart Antony Blinken.
A string of foreign leaders have called Sir Keir to congratulate him on his landslide victory.
Most read in The Sun
These included Volodymyr Zelensky, the Ukrainian president, to whom the Prime Minister pledged “unwavering commitment”.
NEW FORMATION First picture from inside Keir Starmer's new Cabinet as they meet for the first time after election landslide
Sir Keir also spoke to Indian Prime Minister, Narendra Modi and European Union leader Ursula von der Leyen.
He has said his message to the world from the U.K. is: “We’re back.”
The new PM wants Britain to take a larger role on the global stage after years of soured relations with Europe over Brexit and the inward-looking U.K. political soap opera that followed.
Starmer takes office at a time of multiple crises — including the war in Ukraine and the Middle East, a surging far right, and a muscle-flexing China.
Malcolm Chalmers, deputy director general of the Royal United Services Institute, said that with France facing a far-right surge in legislative elections and the U.S. embroiled in a polarizing, high-stakes presidential election, Britain “has the most stable government of all the major Western democracies.”
“It therefore has the opportunity, and responsibility, to help steady the ship of Western unity at a time of exceptional political fluidity,” he said.
Sir Keir has said there will be no change to Britain’s staunch support for Ukraine, and has pledged to increase U.K. military spending to 2.5 per cent of GDP — though he hasn’t put a date on it.
It comes as Sir Keir Starmer told the nation to “judge me on my actions not on words” as he kicked off the red dawn of Labour.
The newly-minted PM hailed the “moment in history” as he gathered his top team Labour’s first Cabinet meeting in a generation.
Speaking at a press conference, he said our prisons and NHS are “broken” and vowed to put the government on a war footing to fix public services.
And adopting a new laid-back style, he told civil servants they can “Call me Keir” rather than Prime Minister.
READ MORE SUN STORIES
He also hit back at claims he has won a “loveless landslide” because 80 per cent of Brits did not vote Labour - promising not to “turn our back” on anyone.
Speaking in No10’s wood-panelled state dining room, Sir Keir said: “I reminded the entire Cabinet that we will be judged on actions, not on words.
5
5
Topics