US President Donald Trump on Thursday announced that he encouraged UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer to get stricter on immigration, even advocating for the deployment of military force if needed.
The remarks were made as Starmer highlighted the importance of getting Britain's migrant returns deal with France working in a bid to deal with the surge in arrivals. The two leaders met on the last day of Trump's state visit to the United Kingdom.
"You have people coming in, and I told the Prime Minister I would stop it. And it doesn't matter if you call out the military, it doesn't matter what means you use, but it's going to destroy... countries from within," Trump said in his comments after having bilateral meetings with Starmer.
Starmer then justified the UK's "one in, one out" deal with France, stating, "it is important we're able to prove it can be done."
At the same meeting, both leaders signed a landmark agreement on technology investment. The agreement, according to officials, will create thousands of jobs and attract billions of dollars across areas such as artificial intelligence, quantum computing, and nuclear energy.
Trump also admitted to disagreement with the British prime minister on recognizing Palestine as a sovereign state. “I have a disagreement with the Prime Minister on that score, one of our few disagreements, actually,” Trump said.
Starmer did emphasize, however, that they were agreed on the general necessity for a road to peace in Gaza, which has been wracked by strife for almost two years. "We absolutely agree on the need for peace and a road map, because the situation in Gaza is intolerable," he said.
Ending his state visit, which he termed an "exquisite honour," Trump was relaxed at the final press conference, while Starmer avoided possible flash points. The two leaders avoided questions about late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and his connections to Trump as well as to Starmer's former Washington ambassador, so that the proceedings ended without controversy.
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