The Prime Minister has since sent a grovelling message to the new President via X, sending his "warmest congratulations" and hopes that the "special relationship" between the UK and the US "will continue to flourish for years to come".

Downing Street said it is ‘entirely normal’ for Britain to be represented by outgoing ambassador Dame Karen Pierce

Sir Keir Starmer congratulated Donald Trump on his inauguration as the forty-seventh President of the United States. The British PM did not attend the ceremony in Washington.