Tiffany Wertheimer
Live reporter

Image source, EPA/Shutterstock

Trump and Starmer covered a wide range of topics on their final joint news conference for this state visit. Here's a snapshot of what was said:

On immigration

• Trump claims "millions of people" flowed into the US "unchecked", something he says he "couldn't stand to watch"
• The president suggested Starmer could use the military to control the UK's borders, saying he told the prime minister: "It doesn't matter if you call out the military, it doesn't matter what means you use"

• Starmer replied that the "one in one out" deal with France was succeeding, and a flight had taken off this morning to return a migrant who crossed the Channel in a small boat

On the war in Gaza

• Both leaders agree that all the hostages held by Hamas in Gaza must be released, fighting stopped in the Gaza Strip, and aid allowed in - but Trump says he doesn't agree on Starmer's plans to recognise a Palestinian state
• The leaders said they were working hard to bring peace and stability to the region: "It's complex but it's going to get done, and get done right," Trump said

On Putin and the war in Ukraine

• "Putin has really let me down", Trump said, admitting that he thought solving the Russia-Ukraine war would be one of the easier conflicts to deal with
• "You never know with war, you think you're going to have an easy time, but things happen that are very much the opposite," the president lamented. He said he doesn't, however, regret holding the peace summit in Alaska with Putin a few months ago
• Starmer said there needs to be more international pressure on Putin, and that his recent actions are "not the actions of someone who wants peace"

Paul Adams
Diplomatic correspondent

Right at the end of the news conference, Donald Trump made it clear he was waiting for European countries to reduce their reliance on Russian oil before he decides to apply any more of his own pressure on Vladimir Putin.

“I'm willing to do other things, but not when the people that I'm fighting for are buying oil from Russia,” the president told reporters.

“If the oil price comes down, very simply, Russia will settle.”

Hungary and Slovakia have increased their purchase of Russian oil since Putin launched his full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, despite being given time by the EU to find alternative suppliers.

Chalk this one up as a success for No 10published at 16:09 BST 18 September

16:09 BST 18 September

Henry Zeffman
Chief political correspondent

Image source, EPA

I think Sir Keir Starmer and his team will be delighted with that.

Yes, President Trump disagreed with the prime minister on some significant issues — Gaza, illegal immigration, energy policy.

But they are all areas where we already knew they disagreed.

And Trump disagreed with the prime minister in the most pleasant way possible. His tone was “agree to disagree”.

Some of the thorniest issues did not really crop up. Jeffrey Epstein and Lord Mandelson only perfunctorily, and Nigel Farage not at all.

Plus on Ukraine, Trump hardened his rhetoric towards Putin, if perhaps a little short on specifics.

Whisper it, did the prime minister find a way to make Donald Trump boring?

Chalk this one up as a success for No 10.

The final questions comes from Sky News's Beth Rigby. She asks about "the elephant in the room", Peter Mandelson - the former UK ambassador to the US.

She asks about Trump's relationship to Mandelson and to Epstein. Trump says he does not know him, seeming to refer to Mandelson, and defers the question to Starmer.

(The president was friends with Epstein in the 1990s and early 2000s. He has never been accused of wrongdoing in connection with the late financier.)

The prime minister repeats that he made the decision around Mandelson because of the information that came to light last week.

• For context: This state visit comes days after Starmer was forced to sack Peter Mandelson as the UK's ambassador to the US, when emails emerged showing the former cabinet minister was much closer to the convicted paedophile than previously known.

The joint news conference has now come to an end. We'll recap what was said, and bring you some analysis shortly.

Peston now asks about the suspension of American talk show host Jimmy Kimmel's television programme last night.

For context, ABC suspended Kimmel indefinitely over remarks he made about right-wing influencer Charlie Kirk's killing - more on that here.

Trump responds by claiming Kimmel was fired "because he had bad ratings" and due to a "lack of talent".

Starmer adds that Kirk's killing should be condemned, saying the incident "sent shockwaves through the world".

Next up is a question from ITV's Robert Peston, who tells Trump he is the only person able to persuade Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to "stop the demolition of Gaza City, stop the starvation of Palestine and to stop the killing of civilians".

"If not now, when will you exercise that power and tell him to stop?" Peston asks.

Trump interjects, saying: "You do understand about 7 October?... one of the worst days in the history of humanity."

The US president says he "can't forget" that day, and adds he wants the war ending but wants the hostages returned.

Pressed on whether he would tell Netanyahu to stop the offensive in Gaza if hostages were released, Trump says: "It would certainly help, but I have to have the hostages back. And I don't want them back piecemeal."

Starmer is next asked why he's waiting for Trump to leave the country to recognise a Palestinian state, and if doing so would risk "rewarding Hamas".

The prime minister says Hamas is a "terrorist organisation who can have no part in the future governance of Palestine".

As he says this, Trump pats Starmer on the back and says: "That's good."

The PM says Hamas doesn't want a two-state solution, peace or a ceasefire in Gaza. He adds that the timing of recognising a Palestinian state has "nothing to do" with Trump's state visit.

He says both him and Trump want to "bring about a better solution in the best way we can".

The next question is about a deal between the US and China to keep TikTok running in the US.

For context, the social media platform, which is run by Chinese company ByteDance, was told it had to sell its US operations or risk being shut down.

Trump says he will be speaking to China's President Xi on Friday to try and finalise a deal, adding that TikTok is popular with young people.

He says the platform helped him in his election campaign last year.

Trump adds that he would rather reap the technological and financial benefits from TikTok and have it owned by US investors, whom he describes as "straight, legitimate companies".

Image source, Reuters

Trump says his government is trying to get the Bagram Airbase in Afghanistan back.

"That could be a little breaking news," the president says.

Adding: "One of the reasons we want the base is because it is an hour away from where China makes its nuclear weapons."

The Bagram base was built by the Soviet Union in the 1950s, becoming its main base in the 1980s as it defended its occupation of Afghanistan.

The US inherited the base when it overthrew the Taliban in 2001. Bagram was in ruins after being abandoned, but the Americans rebuilt the base and it eventually grew to around 30 square miles (77 sq km).

• Read more: Two decades of the US at Bagram base

Trump is asked what his next steps are to end the war in Ukraine, after he told the news conference earlier that Russian President Putin had let him down.

The US president repeats what he told the press earlier, and claims the war wouldn't have happened if he was president at the time.

He again claims his administration has settled seven wars, most of which, he says, "were not thought to be settle-able".

He says he hopes they'll have some good news coming up, but says the war doesn't affect the US. The president says he feels as though he has an obligation to settle the war in Ukraine.

• As a reminder, during the 2024 presidential campaign, Trump said he could end the war in Ukraine "within 24 hours". He has since spoken multiple times to both Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelensky hoping to secure a peace agreement

Starmer reiterates that there needs to be extra pressure put on Putin, and says it's only when Trump puts pressure on Putin that he's "shown any inclination to move".

Image source, EPA

A reporter from the Sun also asked about renewable energy, which the UK prime minister now comes to.

He says there is a need for a pragmatic approach and it will be some time before the use of oil and gas can be phased out in the UK.

As Starmer is about to move on, Trump interjects to say that his policy of "drill baby drill" has helped the US deal with its inflation problem.

He adds that the UK has a "great asset" in North Sea oil that should be used.

• Last week, US Energy Secretary Chris Wright urged the UK government to lift the de facto ban on fracking and issue new oil and gas licenses in the North Sea while warning that the Trump Administration had "serious concerns" about Europe's reliance on Chinese renewable technologies.

Next up is a journalist from The Sun, who asks Trump to offer advice to Starmer on border control.

Trump claims he saw "millions of people" flow into the US "unchecked" - something he says "destroys countries from within".

"I couldn't stand to watch it," Trump says.

The US president adds it's a "very hard chore" but says he had "no choice" but to remove them.

On the UK, he says: "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."

Starmer replies, saying the UK has struck a "one in one out" deal with France, with a flight returning someone as part of this scheme taking off this morning.

No meeting of minds on recognising Palestinian statepublished at 15:43 BST 18 September

15:43 BST 18 September

Paul Adams
Diplomatic correspondent

The two leaders dance uneasily around their differences over the recognition of a Palestinian state.

Starmer says “the question of recognition needs to be seen,” doing his level best not to offend his guest by seeming to lecture him.

“I have a disagreement with the prime minister on that score,” Trump says simply, at the end of an answer which focussed almost exclusively on the fate of Israeli hostages still being held in Gaza.

Neither man chose to take the disagreement further.

That will go down as an exchange that could have gone a whole lot worse. But there has clearly been no meeting of mind on this difficult issue.

• For context: The UK is next week expected to formally recognise Palestinian statehood at a UN General Assembly meeting, if Israel does not meet certain conditions. The US is strongly opposed to the move

The leaders are now taking questions from the press.

The first is from the BBC's political editor Chris Mason, who asks the pair about Starmer's plan to recognise a Palestinian state.

• For context, Starmer has announced the UK will recognise a Palestinian state this month unless Israel meets certain conditions, including agreeing to a ceasefire in Gaza and reviving the prospect of a two-state solution.

Starmer emphasises the need for peace and a roadmap to end the war. He says the hostages in Gaza must be freed and aid taken into Gaza.

In that context, he says “the question of recognition needs to be seen".

Trump says he wants to see the hostages being held by Hamas in Gaza released "right now".

He says "we have to remember 7 October - one of the worst, most violent days in the history of the world".

"I want an end...I think it will be OK but it has been brutal period of time," he adds.

Trump ends by saying that the UK and US have a relationship "like no other".

"We will always be united, we will always be together," the US president adds, thanking Starmer for the "great job he is doing".

Trump moves on to the killing of right-wing influencer Charlie Kirk.

• For context, Kirk, a 31-year-old conservative activist, was shot dead last week - prosecutors allege he was targeted because of his "political expression".

The president says Kirk was "heinously assassinated for speaking his mind".

Trump tells the news conference that he told Kirk he had a "good shot someday at being president", and praises his ability to relate to youth.

Young people are "devastated" following his death, he says, adding that he appreciates condolences being offered by Brits.

Trump now speaks about his time at Windsor Castle on Wednesday.

"What a place it is," he says, calling the military parade "one of the most magnificent sights we've seen".

Trump says US soldiers look forward to working with their UK counterparts as Britain moves toward spending 5% of its GDP on security.

The US president also pays tribute to the head of Nato, Mark Rutte, who he says has "done a wonderful job".

"It's so imperative that UK and US stand together for the fundamental rights of the English-speaking world," Trump adds.

Still unclear how Trump intends to break Ukraine deadlockpublished at 15:32 BST 18 September

15:32 BST 18 September

Paul Adams
Diplomatic correspondent

Prime Minister Keir Starmer says Vladimir Putin’s recent attacks on Ukraine and drone incursions into Poland “are not the actions of someone who wants peace.”

• As a reminder, earlier this month Poland accused Russia of breaching its airspace when 19 drones entered its territory. Moscow has insisted the incident was not deliberate.

A month ago, in a hot mic moment at the White House, Donald Trump was overheard telling France’s President Emmanuel Macron that he believed Putin “wants to make a deal for me… as crazy as it sounds.”

Today, Trump says that Putin has “let me down.” The deal he confidently predicted a month ago remains out of reach. It’s still not clear how the American president intends to break the deadlock in Ukraine.

Trump claims he has been able to "solve" seven wars that were "unsolvable" and "couldn't be negotiated" since taking office.

With Nato's commitment to spending 5% of its GDP on defence in a summit in June, Trump says he believed the war in Ukraine would be the easiest to end. He says this is because of his relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin

But, Trump says: "He has let me down."

• As a reminder, President Trump hosted Vladimir Putin in Alaska last month hoping to secure a deal on ending the conflict. While he's said they had made "some great progress", an agreement has yet to be reached

The US president says they are working hard on the war in Gaza, which he says will get done "right". He adds that he hopes to do the same in Ukraine.

Trump now talks about the so-called Technology Prosperity Deal that the two leaders signed a short while ago.

He describes the deal as "one of a kind" and says it will ensure the countries "lead the next technological revolution side by side".

Trump says his trip to the UK has galvanised $350bn (£258bn) in deals across many sectors.

He says the US and UK are also joining forces on quantum computing and nuclear power.

The US president adds that his country is "doing better than it has ever done for business and investment".