Trump landing in UK today: $10 bn deals likely in talks with Starmer, defence pacts in focus

US President Donald Trump was due to arrive in Britain late on Tuesday for a second state visit at which the two nations will seal deals worth more than $10 billion, a renewal of a “special relationship” Prime Minister Keir Starmer is keen to champion.

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and British finance minister Rachel Reeves were leading events ahead of Trump’s arrival, announcing a “Transatlantic taskforce” to deepen work between two of the world’s largest financial centres.

Trump will then be greeted by King Charles on Wednesday, for a day of pomp at Windsor Castle, a regal show of soft power that Starmer hopes will offer him protection from possible pitfalls later on the visit.

British PM under pressure after sacking ambassador

Starmer, under pressure after being forced to sack Peter Mandelson as his ambassador to the US over his ties to Epstein, will then host Trump at his country residence.

With Starmer hoping to underline that his close ties with Trump can benefit Britain, senior US officials said on Monday that deals worth more than $10 billion would be announced during the visit, covering energy and technology.

Business executives attending include Nvidia Corp CEO Jensen Huang and OpenAI’s Sam Altman. Google said it would invest 5 billion pounds ($6.8 billion), partly on a new data centre close to London that would help meet demand for AI services.

“This historic second state visit is set to highlight and renew the special relationship between the United States and the United Kingdom,” a senior US 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”, citing US investment pledged over the weekend to create 1,800 jobs in Britain and a civil nuclear partnership that could lower energy prices.

Olivia O’Sullivan, a director at the Chatham House think tank, said Britain believed that by closely aligning with the US it could stay “on the cutting edge of the kind of frontier technology” that is dominated by the US and China.

Scrutiny over Trump’s relationship with Epstein

Starmer could well do with shifting the focus to geopolitics when he hosts Trump at his Chequers country residence on Thursday, after enduring some of his toughest weeks in office.

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 missteps 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.

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 US leader has denied writing.

Trump to be treated to royal pageantry

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.

Both nations will have sizeable delegations and will be largely protected from planned anti-Trump protests. Trump will also be joined by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who will hold talks with Britain’s newly-appointed foreign minister, Yvette Cooper.

(This is an agency copy. Except for the headline, the copy has not been edited by Firstpost staff.)