U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer will not attend Donald Trump’s inauguration ceremony next week, in line with precedent, his official spokesman confirmed on Thursday.
Trump has broken with tradition by inviting some foreign leaders to Monday’s event, after which the Republican will return to the White House, but Starmer is not among them.
“It is US custom that foreign governments are officially represented at presidential inaugurations by their ambassadors, and the British ambassador will represent the UK,” his spokesman told reporters.
“We look forward to working with him (Trump), and you know from the readout of their phone call earlier this month the two look forward to seeing one another at the earliest available opportunity,” he added.
Foreign leaders are by tradition not invited to attend the inauguration of the US president, but Trump has invited the far-right Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.
French President Emmanuel Macron and European Commission head Ursula von der Leyen will not attend.
Hard-right Eurosceptic Nigel Farage, who leads the Reform UK party, is due to be at the ceremony, as is French far-right politician Eric Zemmour.