Donald Trump urged Keir Starmer to deploy the military to stop the Channel small boats crisis that is “destroying” the country, drill in the North Sea and uphold free speech at a tense joint press conference today. The Mail has more.

At a joint press conference, the US President warned that illegal immigration “destroys countries from within” – as he highlighted his own success in securing the border.

Mr Trump also bluntly stated that he “disagreed” with Sir Keir’s plan to recognise a Palestinian state, urged the UK to do more drilling in the North Sea, and pointedly hailed the “traditions of British liberty”.

The interventions came as the leaders wrapped up a State Visit with the PM hailing the “renewed” Special Relationship and his “friendship” with Mr Trump. 

Speaking at Chequers, Sir Keir insisted that Vladimir Putin’s strikes on Ukraine were “not the actions of someone who wants peace”.

In some of his toughest language which will be welcomed by No. 10, Mr Trump said Putin had “let me down, he’s really let me down”.

Sir Keir urged a new push for peace in Gaza – where the allies have taken sharply different approaches. 

But as well as batting away the idea of recognising Palestine, Mr Trump delivered a veiled dig over American concerns about free speech in the UK. Sir Keir responded later in the exchanges that Britain had enjoyed free speech for a “very very long time”. “It’s part of who we are as a country… we fought for it in the Second World War alongside each other.”

And asked about the Channel boats crisis, Mr Trump cited his own policies: “What I saw happening, with millions of people pouring into our country, I couldn’t stand to watch it, and we’ve done a great job.”

He said “the last three months we had zero – from millions of people a year ago, we had zero people enter our country illegally”.

Mr Trump added: “I think your situation is very similar. 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.

“It destroys countries from within and we’re actually now removing a lot of the people that came into our country.”

Trump, of course, doesn’t have to contend with the European Convention on Human Rights and its overly officious judicial defenders. A lesson there for Sir Keir, perhaps.

Worth reading in full.