By Andrew J Quinn

Copyright scotsman

Donald Trump has encouraged Sir Keir Starmer to use the military to tackle illegal immigration. The US president also urged the Prime Minister to use the “great asset” of North Sea oil at a joint press conference in the south of England on Thursday afternoon. In a wide-ranging conference, Mr Trump claimed he did not know sacked US ambassador Lord Peter Mandelson – despite meeting him last week. The pair spoke following an hour-long private meeting at Chequers – the Prime Minister’s country residence – as part of the US president’s historic state visit. They also signed a tech deal, which the pair said marked a “new era” for the US-UK relationship. Mr Trump was not particularly outspoken as they fielded questions from reporters in what was a high-stakes press conference for Sir Keir. When asked about illegal immigration, Mr Trump suggested the UK uses the military. He said: “I think your situation is very similar. You have people coming in and 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. “It destroys countries from within and we’re actually now removing a lot of the people that came into our country.” Join the thousands of Scots who receive The Scotsman’s daily newsletter The UK has seen an increasing number of people crossing the English Channel in small boats – with 37,000 people making the crossing last year. The Prime Minister wants to get the number down, in part because the issue of immigration is encouraging some voters to back Reform UK. The US president also encouraged the Prime Minister to make use of North Sea oil, and called wind energy an “expensive joke”. Mr Trump claimed his “drill, baby, drill” policy had helped bring down American prices. The UK government has ruled out new oil and gas licences in the North Sea, focusing on renewables and new nuclear power stations to keep the nation’s lights on. Mr Trump said: “We had the worst inflation in the history of our country and we had an expression that I used a lot: drill, baby, drill. And as you know, we brought fuel way down. The price is way down. And we don’t do wind because wind is a disaster. It’s a very expensive joke, frankly, and we got our energy prices way down. “That brought the inflation way down and now we have very little inflation and we have a very, very strong economy. “So that was very important. Drill, baby, drill. And you have a great asset here … it’s called the North Sea. The North Sea oil is phenomenal.” Sir Keir told reporters he was “absolutely determined to ensure that the price and cost of energy comes down” for households and businesses. “The mix will include oil and gas for many years to come from the North Sea,” he said. “We have been clear about that for some time, but we also need to mix that with renewables. And it’s the mix that’s really important. “And the approach I’ve taken on this is the same approach that I say to many other things: a pragmatic approach.” Mr Trump also said he did not know Lord Mandelson, when asked about his sacking over links to paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein – despite meeting him in the White House last week with First Minister John Swinney. The pair had also been pictured smiling and shaking hands in the Oval Office. The peer was fired as the UK’s ambassador to the US by Sir Keir last week when the extent of his friendship with the US financier was revealed. There had been concerns the issue could cast a shadow on the US president’s second state visit to the UK, not least because Mr Trump was also close to Epstein, although they fell out before his conviction in 2009. Mr Trump said “I don’t know him actually” when asked at a joint press conference with the Prime Minister whether he had sympathy with Lord Mandelson for being sacked over historic links to the sex offender. The US president continued: “I had heard that and I think maybe the Prime Minister would be better speaking of that. It was a choice that he made and I don’t know.” Turning to Sir Keir, Mr Trump asked: “What is your answer to that?” The Prime Minister said: “Well, I mean, it’s very straightforward. Some information came to light last week which wasn’t available when he was appointed. And I made a decision about it, and that’s very clear.” Lord Mandelson was said to have been instrumental in organising the presidential visit. His sacking on Thursday last week followed the emergence of emails in which he told Epstein to “fight for early release” shortly before he was sentenced to 18 months in prison. Lord Mandelson is also reported to have told Epstein “I think the world of you” the day before the disgraced financier began his sentence for soliciting prostitution from a minor in June 2008. Mr Trump continues to deny being the author of a sexually suggestive letter in Epstein’s 50th birthday book in 2003. Epstein died in a New York jail cell in 2019 while facing sex trafficking charges. Mr Trump acknowledged during the press conference that he and Sir Keir had a “disagreement” over the UK’s intention to recognise a Palestinian state. The Prime Minister plans to recognise Palestinian statehood ahead of the United Nations general assembly in New York this month, if Israel does not meet a series of conditions to improve the humanitarian situation in Gaza. British recognition of Palestine is all but guaranteed, as Israel has already said it is opposed to Sir Keir’s conditions – including agreeing to a ceasefire, a two-state solution to peace, and halting annexations in the West Bank. America under Mr Trump remains staunchly opposed to the idea of recognising a Palestinian state, and has also refused to grant visas to Palestinian officials for the coming UN gathering. Sir Keir insisted he was not delaying his announcement on recognition until after Mr Trump leaves the UK. When asked about the UK’s decision to recognise Palestine, the US president said: “I have a disagreement with the Prime Minister on that score, one of our few disagreements actually.” He also accused Palestinian militant group Hamas of “putting the hostages up as bait”, which he described as “pretty brutal”. Mr Trump said the October 7 attacks on Israel were “one of the worst days in the history of humanity”, when asked whether he would call on Benjamin Netanyahu to end his ground offensive in Gaza. He insisted he wanted to see the hostages returned, and not in a “piecemeal” fashion. Pressed on whether he would call for an end to the war if this condition was met, Mr Trump said: “Well, it would certainly help. But I have to have the hostages back.” Sir Keir confirmed the pair had discussed his intention to recognise Palestinian statehood as they met in private on Thursday. Mr Trump said a new tech deal would help the US and UK “dominate” in the world of artificial intelligence (AI) as Sir Keir hailed a “new era” for the special relationship. The tech prosperity deal signed at Chequers will see US firms invest in the UK and boost co-operation on AI, quantum and other emerging technologies. Mr Trump said: “This agreement will also help America and our British allies dominate the future of artificial intelligence.” He pointed out the US is “leading China and the world by a lot” on AI.