Donald Trump Praises UK's "Stronger Stance" On Immigration
US President Donald Trump spoke with UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer on the steps of his golf course hotel in Scotland (Alamy)
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US President Donald Trump praised Keir Starmer’s government for taking a "much stronger stance" on immigration.
Trump met the UK prime minister and his wife, Victoria Starmer, at the US president’s Turnberry golf course in Scotland on Monday ahead of a bilateral meeting.
Speaking to reporters before the meeting, Trump said: “I hear that you've taken a very strong stand on immigration, and taking a strong stand on immigration is imperative."
He admitted he knew “nothing" about the issue of small boat crossings in the English Channel, but went on to praise the Starmer government's "much stronger" approach.
“If the boats are loaded up with bad people, and they usually are, because, you know, other countries don't send their best, they've sent people that they don't want...
“I heard that you've taken a much stronger stance on that," he said.
The president then warned that Europe would be “a much different place than it was just five years ago” if people are allowed to come to the continent illegally.
“They [European countries] have got to get their act together,” he said.
“You're not going to have Europe anymore… This is a magnificent part of the world, and you cannot ruin it. You cannot let people come in here illegally.”
Speaking to journalists in Scotland, Starmer pointed to agreements the UK has signed with other countries to return people who arrive illegally, which includes a recent 'one in, one out' deal with France, and said that the UK has returned 35,000 people “who shouldn't be in this country”.
The number of people crossing the Channel in small boats is the highest for the first six months of this year since data was first collected in 2018 – an increase of almost 50 per cent compared to the same period in 2024.
The leaders were then asked whether they agreed with the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu saying there was no starvation in Gaza.
“Based on television, I would say not particularly, because those children are very hungry,” Trump said.
“But we're giving a lot of money and a lot of food, and other nations are now stepping up.
“Nobody's done anything great over there. The whole place is a mess. It'll get straightened out, but it's a mess.”
Starmer called the situation in Gaza a “humanitarian crisis” and pointed to the UK working with Jordan to get aid directly to the region, as it is a “desperate situation”.
221 cross-party MPs – including many Labour MPs – signed a letter on Friday calling for the UK government to recognise Palestinian statehood. This number has reportedly grown to over 250.
