Keir Starmer’s chief of staff travelled to the US for talks with Donald Trump’s incoming White House team earlier this month.
Morgan McSweeney flew to Florida and Washington for meetings with key members of Trump’s team at the start of December.
Trump’s incoming chief of staff, Susie Wiles, who was behind his election strategy, was among those he met, according to reports in the Telegraph and the Sun.
The UK’s national security adviser, Jonathan Powell, who was appointed in November, is also understood to have been present at the meetings. Powell and McSweeney went on to Washington to meet Mike Waltz, the US president-elect’s national security adviser.
The dispatch of Starmer’s most senior aide and Britain’s national security adviser is a sign of the diplomatic charm offensive being attempted before Trump’s inauguration on 20 January. A Number 10 source confirmed the meetings to the Guardian.
The trip, which began on 2 December, will have been an attempt to secure working relationships given Trump’s vocal support of Nigel Farage.
Elon Musk met Farage this week at Trump’s Florida estate and the Reform leader said the multibillionaire was giving “serious thought” to bankrolling the party.
A senior Downing Street source told the Telegraph “the mood music was very warm” and Trump “is nothing but warm about the UK”.
They added: “As the year closes, team Starmer is confident the UK is in a good position for a strong bilateral relationship with the new presidency.”
The prime minister had a phone call with Trump on Wednesday, where the possibility was raised of a US visit as soon as February.
Downing Street said that on the call Trump had “warmly recounted his meeting” with Prince William earlier this month at the ceremony to reopen Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris.
Starmer faces several challenges with a Trump Republican administration. In addition to past criticisms made of the US president-elect by ministers and MPs, the Labour party was accused by Trump of “blatant foreign interference” in October after its members were found recruiting for volunteers in the Democratic party campaign.
The Labour party’s historic ties to the Democratic party also meant that it paid for McSweeney and No 10’s director of communications, Matthew Doyle, to travel to the Democratic national convention in August.
It is understood that topics discussed at the meetings included a conversation about a trading relationship with the US and working together on policy in Ukraine, China and the Middle East. Starmer will be keen to avoid import tariffs proposed by Trump.
Given Powell’s presence at the talks, it is likely that the Chagos Islands also featured in discussions. It was Powell who negotiated the deal to hand over control to Mauritius.
Farage said in the House of Commons this week that there was “very deep disquiet” among Trump’s allies over Britain’s “surrender” of the islands. The new Mauritian prime minister has now said the arrangement as it stands is not beneficial to his country.
