Starmer declines to address advice to repair relationship with Elon Musk

Sir Keir Starmer has declined to say whether he would follow the advice of close Labour ally Lord Mandelson and end a feud with US businessman Elon Musk.

Senior Labour figure Lord Mandelson also urged the Prime Minister to use Reform UK leader Nigel Farage as “a bridgehead, both to President Trump and to Elon Musk and others”.

The Prime Minister and his team have attempted to build links with Mr Trump ahead of his return to the US presidency in January, but past remarks by his Foreign Secretary David Lammy critical of the soon-to-be president have proved a source of embarrassment.

Mr Musk has meanwhile done battle with the Government via X, the social media site he owns previously known as Twitter.

Only on Monday did he describe the UK as “going full Stalin” because of the Government’s reforms to inheritance tax for farmers.

Asked at the G20 summit in Brazil whether he would follow advice from Lord Mandelson to cease the feuding, the Prime Minister said: “I make no comment about appointments.

“In relation to relations with the US, obviously it is an important relationship for us.

“Historically the US-UK relationship has been a special relationship for a reason, forged in difficult circumstances and as important today as it has ever been.

You cannot just continue this feud indefinitely. You've got to get over it

“In forging that relationship I have obviously spent time with President-elect Trump back in September when I was in New York and we had dinner together, and then spoken to him on the phone.

“I think that is right in terms of building a relationship as we go forward.”

Labour peer Lord Mandelson, who is widely tipped to be the UK’s next ambassador to Washington, was speaking on the Times podcast How To Win An Election when he offered the advice to Sir Keir.

He described it as “unwise” for the UK to ignore Mr Musk, adding: “If I were the Government here, I’d be asking the embassy in Washington DC to find out who his other British friends are. Who are they all? And they’ve got to be used, I think, as a bridge to Musk. And so that’s what I would do.

“You know, swallow your pride, find out who his friends are and try and get into those networks. You cannot just continue this feud indefinitely. You’ve got to get over it.

“You’ve got to, he’s got to be reintroduced to the British Government.

“And one good way of doing that might be through some of his British friends, even if they are not, as I say, you know, bright red supporters of the Labour Government.”

Asked if this could include Mr Farage, the Labour peer said: “Yes, I would include Nigel Farage. I mean, you can’t ignore him. I mean, he’s an elected Member of Parliament.

“He’s a public figure. He’s a bridgehead, both to President Trump and to Elon Musk and others. You’ve got to be pragmatic, practical about this.”

Elsewhere, the president-elect’s son Eric Trump told the PA news agency that past comments by Mr Lammy – who once called Donald Trump a “racist KKK and Nazi sympathiser” – were “foolish”.

But the businessman told PA his father was “a bigger person than they are”, and claimed “a great trade agreement can be reached” between the UK and United States.