Trump and Starmer to discuss Gaza ceasefire and US-UK trade at president’s Scottish golf course: Live updates

Sir Keir Starmer has arrived at Turnberry resort to engage in talks with US President Donald Trump.

Starmer’s entrance took place amid the sound of live bagpipes as he was driven into the luxury golf course.

Trump stood outside the golf resort’s entrance where he then shook hands with Starmer as they prepare to head inside the hotel for bilateral talks.

Trump and Starmer’s meeting this afternoon comes amid growing global outrage at the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, while peace talks between Hamas and Israel came to a standstill last week.

Speaking to BBC Breakfast this morning, Jonathan Reynolds said that Gaza is bound to be ‘on the agenda today’.

He added: ‘The intolerable scenes that we’re seeing, the world is seeing, are the backdrop to that.

‘And of course, the US has itself secured on two occasions ceasefires in the conflict, so they have been actively engaged in it, working with Egypt, the Qataris, and other key partners in the region.

‘The US is the country I think we’d all recognise with the leverage here to really make a difference on both sides. So their role is fundamentally important.’

White House special envoy Steve Witkoff blamed Hamas for a ‘lack of desire’ to reach an agreement.

Since then, Israel has promised military pauses in three populated areas of Gaza to allow designated UN convoys of aid to reach desperate Palestinians.

But the UK, which is joining efforts to airdrop aid into the enclave and evacuate children in need of medical assistance, has said that access to supplies must be ‘urgently’ widened.

Sir Keir is under increasing pressure from MPs and even his own ministers to recognise Palestinian statehood.

It comes after French President Emmanuel Macron said his country will do so in September.

The US and UK struck a deal in May in which Trump agreed to lower a tariff on UK cars and automative parts from 25 per cent to 10 per cent on a maximum of 100,000 cars.

However, an agreement for Britain’s steel imports was not reached, leaving tariffs on steel at 25 per cent.

Speaking to reporters as he left the White House on Friday, Mr Trump said he and Sir Keir would be ‘fine-tuning’ the US-UK trade deal when they meet in Scotland.

But he downplayed the prospect on an agreement on steel, warning there was ‘not a lot’ of wiggle room on steel tariffs.

Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds suggested that it may require more than simply one meeting for the matter to be resolved.

He told BBC Breakfast this morning: ‘We were very happy to announce the breakthrough that we had a few months ago in relation to sectors like automotive, aerospace, which are really important to the UK economy.

‘But we always said it was job saved, but it wasn’t job done. There’s more to do.’

Pro-Trump supporters were pictured urging the US President ‘Don’t trust Starmer’ while he hit the Turnberry golf course for the second day on Sunday.

Police were seen patrolling the golf course as associates played earlier in the morning before a huge motorcade of golf caddies arrived around 10.40am.

Supporters of the president carrying placards stood in the dunes urging him, ‘Don’t trust Starmer’, also shouting, ‘We love you Trump’.

Three people gathered to support the Republican leader, carrying a hand-painted placard which read: ‘President Trump don’t trust Starmer’.

It branded the Prime Minister an explicit term, and was jointly held by a man dressed in black, who wore an Adidas baseball cap.

A man was arrested at Prestwick Airport on Friday evening for allegedly carrying a placard calling Donald Trump an offensive word.

The man, aged 20, was arrested next to the military airport in Ayrshire where Air Force One landed ‘for abusive behaviour and refusing to stop’, according to Police Scotland.

By Geoff Earle, Deputy U.S. Political Editor in Turnberry, Scotland

Teams of local police and Secret Service agents continue to maintain a tight security seal around Trump’s Turnberry course as the U.S. president prepares to meet British PM Keir Starmer.

Local police officers were searching shrubs around Trump’s Turnberry course seeking any possible hazards, as the presidential limo ‘the Beast’ was positioned for any Trump movements.

Police on horseback and riding ATVs have been securing areas around the club.

The president is set to greet Starmer at entrance to the club’s main building before the two hold a meeting that will touch on trade, Gaza, and Ukraine. Then, Trump heads to Glasgow, where he will fly toward his other course at Aberdeen aboard Air Force One.

That sets up a dinner event and an opening of his new golf course there.

The US President was pictured with a mysterious tan makeup caked on his hand while meeting Ursula von der Leyen in Scotland on Sunday.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt revealed the president recently ‘noticed mild swelling in the lower legs’ and was evaluated by the White House medical unit.

Leavitt said he underwent a ‘comprehensive examination’ which included ‘diagnostic vascular studies.’

‘Bilateral, lower extremity ultrasounds were performed and revealed chronic venous insufficiency,’ Leavitt stated.

She said it’s a ‘common condition’ in individuals over the age of 70 and there was ‘no evidence’ of deep vein thrombosis or arterial disease.

‘The president remains in excellent health,’ Leavitt said overall.

The makeup covering has been visible in multiple press photos throughout Trump’s trip.

The splotch has been visible on other occasions throughout the past month, sparking a new round of questions about the cause.

Sir Keir Starmer arrived at Prestwick Airport this morning to meet US President Donald Trump on a British Airways airbus.

The UK Prime Minister is currently set to travel to Turnberry Golf Course where the two leaders will meet, with Starmer expected to discuss efforts to bring about a ceasefire in Gaza.

The pair are expected to meet around noon today.

Scottish First Minister John Swinney isn’t only planning to query Trump about Gaza when the two men meet – he’s also making a pitch clear tariffs from Scotch whiskey.

‘Scotch whiskey is a unique product. It can only be produced in Scotland,’ he said Monday in comments to the BBC. ‘So there’s a uniqueness about that, which I think means there is a case for it to be taken out of the tariffs arrangement that is now in place.’

Alcohol also appears to have been left out of trade agreement Trump and EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced Sunday, July 27, 2025, as France and Italy push to exempt wine and the Dutch push for beer.

Protesters are doing what they can to keep the Jeffrey Epstein saga alive on Trump’s trip despite his admonitions to the press.

A group calling itself ‘Everyone Hates Elon’ has staged a protest van plastered with a picture of Trump and Epstein together in Aberdeen, where Trump flies later Monday.

‘Welcome to Scotland, Donald,’ it says.

Trump has been asked about Epstein matters a few times on his trip, saying he had ‘nothing to do with it’ and urging a focus on his rivals.

One of the primary purposes of President Donald Trump’s trip to Scotland is to promote his two golf courses: Turnberry on the Ayrshire coast and a new one in Aberdeenshire.

Trump will show off both to Prime Minister Keir Starmer – all part of his desire to host the British Open at Turnberry.

Ever since buying Turnberry in 2014, Trump has been desperate to host Britian’s biggest golf championship. It has been held four times over the past 50 years at the Scottish course but not since Trump purchased it.

Trump is already playing host to two of sports’ greatest championships during his tenure in the White House: the 2026 World Cup, taking place in the United States, and the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles.

The British Open would give him the triple crown.

No doubt the promise of a championship would help Starmer in his trade negotiations with the president but there may be little the prime minister can do.

The Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews decides which course gets the British Open and officials there have been clear they want any championship game to be focused on golf – not politics.

It won’t help that Starmer doesn’t play golf either.

Sir Keir Starmer’s plane has touched down at Glasgow’s Prestwick Airport.

He is set to be greeted by the US president when he arrives at the Turnberry golf course in Ayrshire, following a 40-minute drive.

President Trump reportedly has speakers on his golf cart designed to drown out the bellowing sounds of protestors gathered at his Tunberry course.

When Trump arrived early on Saturday morning, he came equipped with ‘a soundtrack, music blaring, a mobile disco from his golf buggy’, Sky News has reported.

Then, on Sunday, as he got closer to the crowds of protestors, he started playing ‘jazz music’ in a bid to silence any noise.

On Saturday, hundreds of demonstrators gathered on the cobblestone and tree-lined street in front of the US Consulate about 100 miles away in Edinburgh, Scotland’s capital.

Speakers told the crowd that Trump was not welcome and criticized British Prime Minister Keir Starmer for striking a recent trade deal to avoid stiff US tariffs on goods imported from the U.K.

Protests were planned in other cities as environmental activists, opponents of Israel’s war with Hamas in Gaza and pro-Ukraine groups loosely formed a ‘Stop Trump Coalition.’

Despite protests from hundreds of Scots at his arrival, Trump’s history to the nation is long-standing.

His mother, Mary Anne MacLeod Trump, was born and raised just outside of Stornoway in the Isle of Lewis, and grew up in the town of Tong.

MacLeod migrated from Scotland to the U.S. at the age of 18. She would eventually marry Fred Trump and give birth to the future president.

President Trump’s new 18-hole MacLeod course in Aberdeenshire is named after his mother, with a ribbon-cutting ceremony planned on Tuesday.

On Thursday, Eric Trump aid he could not wait to see his father arrive in Scotland, adding: ‘We have just completed the greatest course on earth and waited years for this day to come.

‘I’ve never been more proud to have my father arrive in Scotland to see his original dream come to fruition. We can’t wait!‘

The Trump course with the most storied lineage is in Turnberry, on the western coast of Scotland. But golf’s biggest prize has been out of reach since Trump acquired it.

His Aberdeen courses, which son Eric Trump calls the best 36 holes in the world, are on the eastern coast.

Trump bought Turnberry for $60 million in 2014, reportedly spending $200 million improving it.

When Trump landed into Scotland on Friday, the President was greeted by Scottish Secretary Ian Murray before speaking to reporters.

Adding that it was ‘great to be in Scotland’, he said about Starmer: ‘I like your prime minister. He’s slightly more liberal than I am – as you probably heard – but he’s a good man. He got a trade deal done.’

Trump added: ‘You know, they’ve been working on this deal for 12 years, he got it done – that’s a good deal, it’s a good deal for the UK.’

European Commission President, Ursula von der Leyen visited Scotland on Sunday to meet with Trump at his Turnberry golf resort.

During a short meeting, they agreed on a US tarriff on most EU goods at 15 per cent, half of what Trump had initially threatened to implement on Friday.

Goods exempt from the tarriff included aircraft and plane parts, certain chemicals and some agriculutural products.

Describing it as the ‘biggest deal ever made’ between the two nations, Trump said that he believed the deal would ‘bring us closer together’.

But Hungary’s Prime Minister seemed far from satisfied with the agreement, insisting that he believed Trump ‘ate Von der Leyen for breakfast’ and describing her as ‘featherweight’.

Meanwhile, Italian Prime Minister GTiorgia Meloni said that while the agreement was ‘positive’, she was still awaiting ‘further details’.

John Swinney has accepted an invitation to have dinner with Trump in Aberdeenshire tonight, according to Sky News.

The private dinner is set to take place ahead of a series of talks between the two leaders tomorrow.

Mr Swinney, who previously called for his official State visit to be cancelled, has pledged to ‘essentially speak out for Scotland’.

He said previously: As we welcome the President of the United States, Scotland will be showcased on the world stage. This provides Scotland with a platform to make its voice heard on the issues that matter, including war and peace, justice and democracy’

Since Trump’s arrival in Scotland on Friday, he has spent a significant amount of time at his treasured course.

On Saturday, he blocked off the day and hit the course early. Sporting a white USA baseball hat, he was joined by his son Eric Trump, who Trump says ‘is going to cut a ribbon’ when Trump inaugurates his new course in Aberdeenshire.

Also on the course with Trump at Turnberry was U.S. Ambassador Warren Stephens and his son, according to the White House.

Donald Trump, Jr. and his girlfriend Bettina Anderson were also present.

The Daily Mail has asked the White House for further information about which family members are accompanying Trump on the trip. None were seen traveling with him to Scotland aboard Air Force One. First lady Melania Trump is not expected on the golf-centered trip.

Alongside plenty of golf, Trump also met with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen to agree an EU-US tariff.

Since arriving in Scotland, Donald Trump has praised Sir Keir Starmer for ‘doing a very good job’.

And, during his talks with Mr Trump today, the PM will hope to use his apparently warm relationship with the US President to secure American action on key issues.

The Gaza crisis is expected to be Sir Keir’s priority during his meeting with Mr Trump.

He will hope to persuade the US President to increase diplomatic pressure on Israel over humanitarian aid to Gaza, with the PM said to be ‘horrified’ by images of starvation.

Sir Keir will also seek to convince Mr Trump to keep trying for a new ceasefire in the Middle East, after talks reached a standstill last week and the US and Israel withdrew their negotiating teams.

During talks on another conflict, the PM will hope to persuade the US President to ratchet up pressure on Vladimir Putin to end Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

British officials have been heartened by a shift in Mr Trump’s stance towards Russia in recent weeks.

Prior to travelling to Britain, the US President floated the possibility of further sanctions on Moscow in a bid to force Mr Putin to negotiate a peace deal.

But while Sir Keir will be hopeful of foreign policy wins in his talks with Mr Trump, the Government has played down the prospect of a further breakthrough on US-UK trade.

The two leaders are set to discuss ‘fine-tuning’ the trade agreement they signed earlier this year.

Yet hopes are slim among UK ministers of getting Mr Trump to agree this week to lower tariffs on British steel imports to America.

In February, Sir Keir Starmer travelled to the White House to visit Trump for the first time since he won the 2024 US Presidential Election.

During the discussion, the PM presented Trump with a letter from King Charles II, inviting him to the UK for a state visit.

In response, Trump accepted the invitation and described it as an ‘honour’.

The two engaged in discussions that included trade, with Trump confirming that the pair could reach a deal ‘very quickly’, joking that the PM was a ‘tough negotiator’.

Discussions surrounding Ukraine were also high on the table, with both leaders insisting they were willing to work together with the goal of peace.

Trump called Starmer a ‘very special person’, speaking about the ‘special relationship’ between the US and UK that was ‘like no other’.

Starmer also praised Trump for his role in attempting to achieve peace in Ukraine, describing the visit as ‘very good and very productive’.

Hundreds of protestores gathered in Edinburgh on Saturday, July, 26, to decry Trump’s visit.

The protests seemed to be far from Trump’s mind as he played golf alongside his son, Eric, and with the US ambassador to Britain, Warren Stephens, near Turnberry, a historic course that the Trump family’s company took over in 2014.

At Tunberry, where protestors also gathered, security was tight and protesters were kept some distance away, unable to be seen by the group during Trump’s round.

Trump is set to welcome Starmer for talks at his Turnberry golf resort in South Ayrshire this morning, the third full day of the US president’s private visit to Scotland.

The US president, who played a second round of golf at Turnberry on Sunday, will open a second 18-hole course on his Menie estate at Balmedie in Aberdeenshire later.

Ahead of his visit, a huge security operation involving officers from across the UK occured with a 10ft-high metal barrier, a ‘ring of steel’ installed at Turnberry to help protect the President.

He touched down at Prestwick Airport on Friday evening and has spent the last two days playing golf with friends and guests.

When he landed, he said it was ‘great to be in Scotland’ and spoke highly of Sir Keir, remarking to journalists on the tarmac: ‘I like your prime minister. He’s slightly more liberal than I am – as you probably heard – but he’s a good man. He got a trade deal done.’

Trump added: ‘You know, they’ve been working on this deal for 12 years, he got it done – that’s a good deal, it’s a good deal for the UK.’

Her also described Scotland’s First Minister John Swinney as a ‘good man’ and said that he was looking forward to their meeting over the weekend.

Gaza and transatlantic trade are set to be key topics discussed at today’s meeting, with Downing Street previously stating that the PM would discuss ‘what more can be done to secure the ceasefire [in the Middle East] urgently’.

The two leaders are also anticipated to discuss yesterday’s trade agreement reached between the US and EU, with the PM likely to press the president for a lowering of current tariffs on certain imports, such as steel.

Speaking from his Turnberry golf course, Trump yesterday said European Union countries would purchase $750 billion of energy from the U.S., and provide an additional $600 billion in U.S. investments.

‘All of the countries will be opened up to trade with the United States at zero tariff, and they’re agreeing to purchase a vast amount of military equipment,’ Trump added. ‘We don’t know what that number is.’

The deal was described by Trump as a ‘very powerful deal’ as well as ‘a very big deal. It’s the biggest of all the deals.’ He also called it ‘the biggest deal ever made.’

‘We wanted to rebalance the trade relations,’ said EU Commission Chair Ursula von der Leyen, confirming the agreement while sitting alongside Trump.

US President Trump landed into Prestwick Airport on Friday evening before leaving for his Turnberry resort, in South Ayrshire.

But many Scottish residents came out in protest at the President’s visit, with Anti-Trump demonstrators gathering at a rally in Aberdeen organised by the campaign group, Stop Trump Coalition.

Good morning – welcome to our live coverage as President Donald Trump and Sir Keir Starmer are set to meet on his golf course in Turnberry, Scotland today!

As we anticipate the meeting between the two world leaders, here is what we know to expect of today’s meeting: