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Donald Trump finally spoke to Keir Starmer over the phone on Sunday.
Both world leaders “stressed the importance of the close and warm ties” between their countries, according to No.10.
The US president was inaugurated for his second term in the White House on Monday, meaning Downing Street has been nervously waiting for his call all week.
It’s unusual for a president to wait this long before chatting to the chief occupant of No.10 at the time.
Trump’s predecessor Joe Biden called then-UK prime minister Boris Johnson three days after his inauguration in 2021, his third phone call to an international leader as the US president.
In a readout sent to the media, a Downing Street spokesperson said Trump “opened by sending his condolences to the prime minister on the loss of his brother,” 60-year-old Nick who died on Boxing Day.
Starmer then thanked Trump and congratulated him on his inauguration.
The spokesperson continued: “The prime minister paid tribute to president Trump’s role in securing the landmark ceasefire and hostages deal in Gaza.”
The Republican sent his envoy to pressure Israel to agree to a ceasefire as Trump returns to office.
The spokesperson said: “The president welcomed the release of free [British-Israeli hostage] Emily Damari and sent his best wishes to her family. They discussed the importance of working together for security in the Middle East.”
They added: “They also discussed trade and the economy, with the prime minister setting out how we are deregulating to boost growth.”
The UK is nervously waiting to see if Trump will slap trade tariffs on British goods, as he has done with Colombia in a row over migrant deportations.
The PM’s representative continued: “The two leaders stressed the importance of the close and warm ties between the UK and the US, and the president spoke of his respect and affection for the royal family.
“They agreed to meet soon and looked forward to further discussions then.”
The White House is yet to issue its own readout summarising the phone call.
It comes after POLITICOreported that Downing Street officials had been left crying tears of laughter over past Trump calls to the UK premier.
Concerns over how their friendship might fare have also been high, as Trump’s new right-hand man billionaire Elon Musk has repeatedly attacked against Starmer on social media ever since he was elected in July.
Some of these worries were quashed when Trump told the media on Saturday that. he thought the UK PM was doing a “very good job”.
He said: “I get along with him well. I like him a lot.
“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.”
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