Trump arrives in Britain for second state visit

By Elizabeth Piper and Steve Holland

LONDON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump arrived in Britain late on Tuesday for an unprecedented second state visit at which the two nations will seal investment deals, a renewal of a "special relationship" Prime Minister Keir Starmer is keen to champion.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and British finance minister Rachel Reeves led events before Trump's arrival, announcing a "Transatlantic taskforce" to deepen work between two of the world's largest financial centres.

Trump will then be greeted by King Charles on Wednesday, for a day of pomp at Windsor Castle, a regal show of soft power that Starmer hopes will offer him protection from possible pitfalls during the trip.

POMP-LADEN VISIT A DIVERSION FOR BOTH LEADERS

The visit should provide Trump with a diversion less than a week after a close ally, conservative activist Charlie Kirk, was shot dead, a killing that has appeared to affect the president deeply.

Starmer is also looking to turn the focus onto geopolitics and investment after enduring a tough couple of weeks that have undermined his authority. First he was forced to fire his deputy and then six days later his ambassador to the U.S., Peter Mandelson, over his ties to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

Starmer wants to pitch Britain as a destination for U.S. investment, closely aligning its financial services, tech and energy sectors with larger U.S. peers to try to drive much-needed economic growth at home.

To that end, business executives including Nvidia Corp CEO Jensen Huang and OpenAI's Sam Altman are due to attend, while billions of dollars of business deals are expected to be announced.

Micosoft said it would invest over $30 billion in Britain over the next four years, while Google said it would invest 5 billion pounds ($6.8 billion), partly on a new data centre close to London that would help meet demand for AI services.

A spokesperson for Starmer described the state visit as "a historic opportunity" coming "at a crucial time for global stability and security".

"The prime minister will discuss the challenges that both our countries face, and the opportunities, as we enter a new era of our deep and unparalleled relationship," the spokesperson told reporters.

STARMER WILL HOST TRUMP ON THURSDAY

Starmer will turn the focus to foreign affairs on Thursday when he hosts Trump at his Chequers country residence and will attempt to draw a line under his handling of the departures of his deputy, Angela Rayner, and Mandelson.

He gave both his full-throated support before being forced to let them go, prompting questions over his political judgment at a time when Nigel Farage's populist Reform UK party holds a hefty lead the polls.

Mandelson's ties to the late Epstein that led to his sacking could present Starmer with a tricky moment with Trump, whose administration had close ties to the former ambassador and whose own relationship with the financier has also come under scrutiny.

Starmer has justified his abrupt sacking of Mandelson last week by saying he was not aware of the depth of the ex-ambassador's ties to Epstein and Trump has denied writing him a birthday letter which Democrats in the House of Representatives made public.

TRUMP TO BE TREATED TO ROYAL PAGEANTRY

On Wednesday, Trump and his wife, Melania, will be treated to British royal pageantry, including a carriage tour, a state banquet, a flypast by military aircraft and a gun salute.

A day later, Starmer welcomes Trump to Chequers, a 16th century manor house in the southern English countryside, to discuss investment, tariffs on steel and aluminium, ending Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine and the situation in Gaza.

Both nations will have sizeable delegations and will be largely protected from planned anti-Trump protests. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio was greeted by Britain's newly-appointed foreign minister, Yvette Cooper, when he arrived on Tuesday.

($1 = 0.7352 pounds)

(Reporting by Elizabeth Piper; Editing by Kate Holton, Alexandra Hudson, Alex Richardson and Alistair Bell)