Starmer has not spoken to Trump about US election interference row
The British Prime Minister has not spoken to Donald Trump since the presidential candidate’s campaign claimed the Labour Party was interfering in the US election.
Mr Starmer was asked if he had called Mr Trump to smooth over the row about Labour staffers campaigning for Kamala Harris.
“No, he’s in the middle of a campaign,” Mr Starmer told ITV.
“Also I think we need just a little bit of perspective here. This is Labour Party members of staff volunteering in their spare time in the election. It’s happened at every election, it happens across the world.”
Mr Trump’s team has filed an official complaint with US federal election authorities, in which they claim the UK Labour Party has “made, and the Harris campaign has accepted, illegal foreign national contributions”.
Senior Labour officials were also said to have met Ms Harris’s campaign staff.
Mr Starmer has insisted that his relationship with Mr Trump, who could be the next US president following the closely fought race, would not be jeopardised by the incident.
When he travelled to New York in September, Mr Starmer had also hoped to meet Ms Harris but was not able to schedule a meeting.
The Labour Party has said it is common practice for campaigners of all political persuasions from around the world to volunteer in US elections and that any Labour activists who take part do so at their own expense and in line with US laws and rules.