Sir Keir Starmer and Donald Trump met in Washington DC on Thursday, marking the Prime Minister’s first trip to the White House.

During their meeting, the leaders discussed issues such as the Russia-Ukraine war, the Chagos Islands deal, and free speech in Europe.

The Labour leader also revealed that Mr Trump has been invited by King Charles for a second state visit to the UK, which he said would be an “honour”.

The US president also listed some similarities between himself and Sir Keir, with the “commen thread” being “we love our country”. He said: “He loves his country, and so do I … We like each other, frankly, and we like each other’s country.”

Some tensions arose during their 30-minute meeting after Sir Keir was asked about Mr Trump’s call to make Canada the 51st US state.

The Prime Minister accused him of “tryng to find a divide that doesn’t exist”, to which the president replied: “That’s enough”, leaving Sir Keir visibly surprised.

Vice President JD Vance was also present and was forced to defend his belief that “free speech is in retreat” in Europe.

He said: “There have been infringements on free speech that actually affect not just the British [but also] American technology companies and by extension, American citizens.”

Sir Keir hit back: “We’ve had free speech for a very, very long time in the United Kingdom – and it will last for a very, very long time … In relation to free speech in the UK, I’m very proud of our history there”.

Mr Trump also backtracked on his comments regarding Volodymyr Zelensky after calling him a “dictator” in a social media post last week.

The president claimed he didn’t remember saying that: “Did I say that? I can’t believe I would say that.” He then called the Ukrainian president “very brave” and said they got on “really well”.

He added that “progress towards peace” is continuing ahead of Mr Zelensky’s visit to the White House on Friday, during which they are expected to sign a deal on Ukraine’s minerals.