UK PM says ties with Trump ‘good’ after US election ‘interference’ claims

Keir Starmer bats distant accusations that Labour volunteers backing Kamala Harris made ‘illegal’ overseas contributions.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has responded straight to allegations from Republican statesmanlike campaigner Donald Trump’s squad that Labour Party officials sought to interfere successful the upcoming US election.

Starmer said helium had “a bully relationship” with Trump connected Wednesday, a time aft the erstwhile US president’s run accused the Labour Party of “blatant overseas interference” aft volunteers travelled to the United States to assistance run for Democratic campaigner Kamala Harris.

En way to a Commonwealth leaders’ gathering connected the Pacific land of Samoa, Starmer told reporters that his enactment had done thing incorrect and that the volunteers had paid for themselves.

Reporting from London, Al Jazeera’s Jonah Hull said that Starmer and his ministers had “responded stridently” to the “pretty sensational” allegations.

“They are not truthful overmuch refuting the basal facts arsenic denying that they did thing wrong,” helium said.

Trump’s squad filed a ailment with the Federal Election Commission successful Washington, DC, calling for an probe into what it termed “illegal overseas nationalist contributions” from Labour to the Harris campaign.

The filing cited media reports that Labour officials, including the premier minister’s caller main of staff, Morgan McSweeney, travelled to the US to counsel the Harris run successful key plaything states.

Trump astatine a run rally successful Detroit successful the plaything authorities of Michigan [File: Evan Vucci/AP Photo]

According to US rules, foreigners tin unpaid connected predetermination campaigns but cannot marque fiscal contributions.

Trump’s squad besides submitted a now-deleted LinkedIn station by Labour Director of Operations Sofia Patel calling for volunteers to question to the authorities of North Carolina, saying “We volition benignant retired your housing”.

Al Jazeera’s Hull said Patel’s connection would travel nether peculiar scrutiny.

“The Labour enactment has volunteers, who person gone implicit beauteous overmuch each election,” helium said. “They’re doing it successful their spare time, they’re doing it arsenic volunteers,” Starmer said.

“That’s what they’ve done successful erstwhile elections, that’s what they’re doing successful this predetermination and that’s truly straightforward.”

He besides denied suggestions that the enactment could harm relations with Britain’s astir important state should Trump bushed Harris successful November and unafraid a instrumentality to the White House.

Starmer met the erstwhile president past period for a two-hour meal astatine his Trump Tower residence successful New York.

“My intent successful doing that was to marque definite that betwixt the 2 of us, we established a bully relationship, which we did, and I was precise grateful to him for making the time.”

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Al Jazeera and quality agencies