Published: 6:18am, 17 Sep 2025Updated: 7:55am, 17 Sep 2025
US President Donald Trump arrived in Britain late on Tuesday for an unprecedented second state visit at which the two nations will seal investment deals, a renewal of a “special relationship” Prime Minister Keir Starmer is keen to champion.
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US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and British finance minister Rachel Reeves led events before Trump’s arrival, announcing a “Transatlantic task force” 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 during the trip.
The visit should provide Trump with a diversion less than a week after a close ally, conservative activist Charlie Kirk, was shot dead, a killing that has appeared to affect the president deeply.
Starmer is also looking to turn the focus onto geopolitics and investment after enduring a tough couple of weeks that have undermined his authority. First he was forced to fire his deputy and then six days later his ambassador to the US, Peter Mandelson, over his ties to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
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Four people were arrested on Tuesday following a projection of images of Trump alongside sex offender Jeffrey Epstein onto the royal Windsor Castle.