Trump hails strength of UK-US ties as he visits Starmer at Chequers
President Trump and Sir Keir Starmer have spent the day together at Chequers
Last updated 18th Sep 2025
Donald Trump hailed an "unbreakable bond" between the US and the UK as he met Sir Keir Starmer for talks at Chequers.
Sir Keir said it was a "great day for the special relationship" as the pair met business chiefs at the Prime Minister's country retreat.
The Prime Minister said the UK-US relationship was "the very foundation of our security, our freedom and our prosperity".
The pair signed a technology prosperity deal, offering major investment by US tech firms in the UK, that will help to develop its AI capabilities.
The Prime Minister also hailed the prospect of some £150 billion flowing into the UK from big US companies such as Blackstone and Palantir.
Mr Trump said the transatlantic ties were "priceless" and "I think it's an unbreakable bond we have".
"This agreement will also help America and our British allies dominate the future of artificial intelligence," he said.
The UK and US have agreed plans for closer work on nuclear power, with Mr Trump pointing out AI data centres "need a lot of electricity".
The US is "leading China and the world by a lot" on AI, he added.
Sir Keir said: "The UK is one of the world's largest economies, maybe not quite on the scale of the United States, I concede, but my word, we punch above our weight, and we lead the world in expertise on quantum, on AI, life sciences, financial services and more.
"We have the only trillion-dollar tech sector in the West, outside of the US, again, I caveat."
He said the tech deal, signed during Mr Trump's unprecedented second state visit, marked "a great day for the special relationship".
It was "a celebration of what has gone before, of course, but more than that, a moment to deliver investments, jobs and deals which will improve people's lives now and light up the special relationship for years to come".
The leaders are currently holding a joint news conference in Chequers where they're taking questions from journalists on various topics.
Conflict
Donald Trump said he is “working very hard on Israel and Gaza”.
The US president said: “Complex, but it’s going to get done. It’ll all get done right. And, likewise, Russia and Ukraine will get done.
“But you never know in war. War is a different thing. Things happen that are very opposite of what you thought.
“You thought you were going to have an easy time or a hard time. And it turns out to be the reverse.”
Donald Trump has described Sir Keir Starmer’s plan to recognise a Palestinian state as “one of our few disagreements”.
“I have a disagreement with the Prime Minister on that score, one of our few disagreements actually,” he told journalists at a press conference when asked about the British plan to recognise Palestinian statehood.
Mr Trump also insisted that “we have to have the hostages back immediately”.
He also accused Palestinian militant group Hamas of “putting the hostages up as bait” and described this as “pretty brutal”.
Sir Keir, meanwhile, confirmed the pair had discussed his intention to recognise Palestinian statehood as they met in private on Thursday.
Recognition needs to be seen as “part of that overall package which hopefully takes us from the appalling situation we’re in now to the outcome of a safe and secure Israel, which we do not have, and a viable Palestinian state”, Sir Keir added.
On the war in Ukraine, Donald Trump said he thought it would be the "easiest" to resolve but Vladimir Putin had "really let me down".
He said: “I want to congratulate the United Kingdom on making the vital commitment to spend 5% of GDP on defence at the Nato summit this year. We’ve worked together very closely in so many ways.
“I’m very honoured to tell you that we’ve solved seven wars, seven wars, wars that were unsolvable, wars that couldn’t be negotiated or done, the US has done seven of them.
“The one that I thought would be easiest …because of my relationship with President Putin, but he’s let me down.
“He’s really let me down … I thought it might be among the easiest of the group.”