Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer meets Donald Trump for first time

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has met up with Donald Trump for the first time.

He had a two-hour dinner with the former US President at his New York base - Trump Tower.

The pair were joined by Foreign Secretary David Lammy for the meeting.

The Prime Minister said it was "good" he had the opportunity to meet the Republican presidential candidate and that it was "really to establish a relationship between" the two of them.

What happened?

Sir Keir was in New York to address world leaders at the UN General Assembly

Why is Sir Keir Starmer meeting Donald Trump?

Adults in the United States will vote for a new president in November - It will either be Donald Trump or Kamala Harris, who are the two main candidates.

Donald Trump was president of the United States between 2017 and 2021. He is the presidential candidate for the Republican Party in this year's election.

A UK government source said that Keir Starmer had "welcomed" the opportunity to meet the former president.

It added that the pair had "discussed the longstanding friendship between the UK and the US and the importance of continuing to develop the strong and enduring partnership between our two countries."

Sir Keir said he also had hoped to meet the Democratic presidential candidate - US Vice-President Kamala Harris - but had been unable to on this trip because of 'diary challenges'.

UK Prime Minister, Sir Keir Starmer met with current US President, Joe Biden in July

What is the special relationship between the UK and US?

America is one of the most powerful countries in the world. Decisions made by the US president can have an impact in places all around the world including Britain.

The United States has the world's most powerful military, a huge economy, and plays a leading role in international institutions such as the United Nations (UN) and NATO.

For over a century, the UK and the US have had a close relationship - where leaders are expected to meet and work with one another.

The relationship was described as "special" by UK Prime Minister Winston Churchill in 1944 as he described the cooperation between the two countries during the Second World War.