Starmer avoids Trump spat at what might be his last G7 summit

{"text":[[{"start":8.75,"text":"In a wood-panelled chamber in the Château de Ripaille — a stone’s throw from Lake Geneva — Sir Keir Starmer showed few signs of stress as he spoke fluently about various geopolitical issues thrashed out by world leaders at this week’s G7 summit. "}],[{"start":25.35,"text":"The UK prime minister welcomed Donald Trump’s impending deal to end the Iran war, emphasised a tightening of British sanctions against Russia over its full-scale invasion of Ukraine and shared his views on topics from AI to critical mineral supplies."}],[{"start":39.8,"text":"Starmer, taking questions from journalists in between meetings, appeared unperturbed by the jeopardy facing him when he returns home to London on Wednesday evening to major political turbulence."}],[{"start":51.5,"text":"His colleagues are under no illusions that the G7 in France could be Starmer’s swansong at a major diplomatic summit, given Andy Burnham’s growing hopes that he can win the Makerfield by-election on Thursday and mount a leadership challenge within days."}],[{"start":66.15,"text":"Yet the beleaguered Labour leader showed no particular emotion as he maintained, not for the first time, that he would fight on if Burnham called for him to walk away. "}],[{"start":null,"text":"

"}],[{"start":75.80000000000001,"text":"He said without any obvious insincerity that he wanted Labour to win the Makerfield by-election. But he also played up the idea that Burnham should stick around the area to help fight the ensuing contest to replace him as Greater Manchester mayor. Starmer knows that if Labour loses that fight it would dent Burnham’s momentum. "}],[{"start":95.05000000000001,"text":"The prime minister even hinted that Burnham could get a top job in his cabinet if he does not launch a coup. "}],[{"start":100.9,"text":"Starmer had flown into Geneva airport on Monday, hours after announcing the details of his social media crackdown, braced for a potential broadside from Trump. "}],[{"start":111,"text":"Officials feared that the US president could criticise the ban on British teenagers using social media apps, or that he could wade into the row over UK military spending that saw John Healey resign last week as defence secretary. "}],[{"start":124.8,"text":"But Trump appeared to be in magnanimous mood, buoyed by the US-Iran deal and by his recent 80th birthday. "}],[{"start":132.95,"text":"Asked whether the US president had criticised him over defence spending or the social media ban, which will hit various US tech giants, and if the issues could damage relations between the two countries, Starmer replied: “No, and no, and no.”"}],[{"start":148.45,"text":"He poured flattery on Trump for cutting the Iran deal. “I’ve had the opportunity to congratulate him, as have all the other G7 leaders and leaders around the world. That is really significant, because this is a big breakthrough.”"}],[{"start":162.29999999999998,"text":"His only awkward moment was when he gathered for a Ukraine meeting at 9am on Tuesday and was kept waiting in the absence of French President Emmanuel Macron, Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Trump. “Are they having a meeting?” he could be heard asking other mid-tier leaders. The full meeting, with Starmer, did go ahead, however."}],[{"start":null,"text":""}],[{"start":181.99999999999997,"text":"He dismissed the idea that he had been “snubbed” by the mercurial US president for not securing a bilateral meeting with him. "}],[{"start":189.84999999999997,"text":"“I sat next to Donald Trump for two hours last night at dinner, which was just the G7 leaders . . . no listening rooms, no staff, no advisers . . . it was a very productive session,” he said. “I spoke to him on the phone on Saturday for quite some time, one to one, as we often do.”"}],[{"start":207.74999999999997,"text":"Starmer initially cultivated a warm relationship with Trump when he began his second term as US president, but there have been strains over the Israel-US invasion of Iran."}],[{"start":218.19999999999996,"text":"The prime minister stressed this week that Britain could play a role in demining the Strait of Hormuz if there is peace in the region. Yet Trump suggested the US would not “need much help” even if it was not “a bad idea to have a ship or two” from elsewhere. "}],[{"start":234.94999999999996,"text":"Regular attendees suggested Starmer was less centre stage than at last year’s event in Canada. But he did have an evening drink with Mark Carney, Canadian PM, and held bilateral meetings with EU chief Ursula von der Leyen as well as German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Indian leader Narendra Modi and Zelenskyy."}],[{"start":null,"text":""}],[{"start":253.99999999999997,"text":"As such the G7 summit was a chance for him to burnish his statesmanlike credentials before returning to what could be a scrappy political dogfight — if he is serious about trying to fend off challengers. "}],[{"start":266.7,"text":"The prime minister announced a new package of 70 sanctions to tackle Russia’s shadow fleet, military procurement supply chains and illicit finance networks. "}],[{"start":276.25,"text":"Hours later Trump announced the much more significant news that the US could soon reimpose strict sanctions on the Russian oil industry — restoring restrictions that were temporarily eased due to the Iran crisis. "}],[{"start":288.9,"text":"G7 leaders expressed disgust at Russia’s military strikes against the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra cathedral, one of the country’s most sacred sites."}],[{"start":297.7,"text":"The prime minister also used the opportunity to announce several new business investments at home in the UK. These include £1bn from InfraVia to invest in a pipeline of battery storage and flexible energy, £25mn from India-based tech company Hexaware Technologies and £300mn from Atri Energy Transition to develop battery storage. "}],[{"start":320.34999999999997,"text":"Before flying back to Westminster, he issued a defiant call to arms for his dwindling group of supporters in parliament. "}],[{"start":327.4,"text":"“We won a significant general election result in 2024 with a mandate to bring about change . . . I’m not going to walk away from that so I will fight if there’s a challenge.”"}],[{"start":338.2,"text":"Starmer’s last official engagement at the G7 was a round table with tech titans including Sam Altman from OpenAI. "}],[{"start":346.09999999999997,"text":"Yet as the world frets about AI taking over our jobs, Starmer cannot escape the far more immediate threat to his. "}],[{"start":361.99999999999994,"text":""}]],"url":"https://audio.ftcn.net.cn/album/a_1781741380_4041.mp3"}