Donald Trump says Keir Starmer is doing a ‘very good job’

"I like him a lot."

The BBC asked Trump about his relationship with Starmer while on board Air Force One, the presidential plane.

"I get along with him well. I like him a lot," Trump told the outlet.

"He's liberal, which is a bit different from me, but I think he's a very good person and I think he's done a very good job thus far.

"He's represented his country in terms of philosophy.

"I may not agree with his philosophy, but I have a very good relationship with him."

The pair have met multiple times, including during Starmer's visit to New York's Trump Tower during the presidential campaign.

Trump and Sir Keir have since had a phone call, their first since the President's inauguration.

Trump also addressed where his first overseas trip as President could be.

"It could be Saudi Arabia, it could be UK. Traditionally it could be UK," he said.

"Last time I went to Saudi Arabia because they agreed to buy $450 billion of American United States merchandise."

Foreign Secretary David Lammy said last week that Starmer could visit Trump in Washington "within the next few weeks".

Trump's praise of Sir Keir comes in spite of his ally and advisor Elon Musk's repeated calls to remove the British leader.

Earlier this year, he went as far as to publish a poll on his X account asking whether the US should invade the UK and “liberate” it from its “tyrannical government”.

The billionaire has also criticised Sir Keir over the grooming gangs scandal. He accused the Prime Minister of being "deeply complicit in the mass rapes in exchange for votes".

Starmer responded to Musk's allegations by saying they were "spreading lies and misinformation", and that, during his time as director of public prosecutions between 2008 and 2013, he tackled the prosecutions "head on".