Keir Starmer has poked gentle fun at Elon Musk and his antics with a chainsaw after the billionaire caused a stir at Donald Trump’s first cabinet meeting.

Musk, the world’s richest man and a close adviser to the president, wielded a chainsaw on stage at a conference last weekend to brag about his largely unrestrained dismantling of US government agencies.

Standing beside Argentinian President Javier Milei, who popularised the logging tool as a symbol for right-wingers, he shouted: ‘This is the chainsaw for bureaucracy! Chainsaw!’

Sir Keir admitted it was not something he could see himself doing, after arriving in Washington for a high-stakes meeting with Donald Trump.

The PM told reporters: ‘You know, taking out a chainsaw isn’t quite my style.

‘But we are stripping away red tape and bureaucracy… We’re open for business, open for investment.’

Musk is back in the spotlight after becoming the centre of attention at the president’s first cabinet meeting yesterday – despite not being an official member.

He attempted to explain why he had gone over several cabinet members’ heads to demand their workers tell him what they did in the past week or face being fired, saying he did it with Trump’s permission.

The South African failed to elicit any laughter despite grinning as he revealed he had accidentally cut ebola protection, before quickly correcting the mistake.

Sir Keir is hoping to secure security guarantees for Europe from the US, after warning Vladimir Putin could invade Ukraine again if they are not provided.

Speaking ahead of the bilateral meeting, he brushed aside suggestions he could have trouble dealing with Trump and said he was in ‘lockstep’ with the US president when it comes to Ukraine.

The PM is prepared to commit British troops to a peacekeeping mission to the region, but believes that US security promises are vital to ‘deter Putin from coming again’.

But the meeting comes as Trump indicated he is not willing to provide any more support or security guarantees ‘beyond very much’ to Ukraine, insisting it was up to Europe to protect the region.

When asked if he could trust Trump in light of his public U-turn on Ukraine and support of Russia, the prime minister told reporters ‘yes’.

‘I’ve got a good relationship with him,’ Sir Keir said.

‘As you know, I’ve met him, I’ve spoken to him on the phone, and this relationship between our two countries is a special relationship with a long history, forged as we fought wars together, as we traded together.

‘And as I say, I want it to go from strength to strength.’

Mr Trump, who has launched efforts with Russia to find a quick peace deal to end the conflict, recently called Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky a ‘dictator’ and suggested he was to blame for starting the war.

But Sir Keir said it was clear that Russian president Mr Putin was ‘the aggressor’ – and that there were ‘no issues’ with Mr Trump on that.

He told reporters travelling with him to Washington: ‘They are the aggressor. They have invaded and occupied a sovereign country in Europe, and they bear full responsibility for the conflict.’

Asked if Mr Trump knew that, the Prime Minister said: ‘Of course, the president has been very clear about the peace that he wants. He’s right about that. We all want peace.

‘The question is, how do we make sure it’s a lasting peace. There’s no issue between us on this.’

Setting out his call for US commitments to Ukraine after a peace deal, Sir Keir said: ‘The reason I say the backstop is so important is that the security guarantee has to be sufficient to deter Putin from coming again.’

While Sir Keir was flying to Washington, the US president said: ‘I’m not going to make security guarantees beyond very much. We’re going to have Europe do that, because we’re talking about Europe as the next-door neighbour.’

Sir Keir said the offer of British troops to a peacekeeping mission if there is a deal – with the risk of being on the front line if Russia invades again – was ‘a decision I’ve not taken lightly’.

‘I want a lasting peace, and I don’t think that will happen if there isn’t an effective deterrence to Putin,’ Sir Keir said.

‘The UK will play its part in that with others but we need a US backstop. Because I don’t think there will be a deterrent to Putin if we don’t have one.’

The Prime Minister will hope the promise to increase defence spending to a 2.5% share of the economy from April 2027 helps persuade Mr Trump that European nations are serious about the security of their continent.

Sir Keir wants to act as a bridge between the US and European continental allies, and said he had been having “really intense discussions with our European partners, with Nato, with Ukraine, and obviously with US teams as well”.

Mr Zelensky and European leaders will meet for talks hosted by Sir Keir on Sunday following separate White House visits by both the Prime Minister and Ukrainian president.

But Ukraine and Mr Trump’s commitment to the Nato alliance are not the only issues which could lead to difficult conversations between the two leaders at the White House.

The looming imposition of US tariffs on imports of British steel could also be a tricky topic.

Asked if he was confident the UK will be exempted from tariffs, Sir Keir said ‘I’m not going to get ahead of our discussions’, but he stressed that British trade with the US was ‘pretty balanced’.

The Prime Minister’s plan to strike a deal to hand sovereignty of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius and then lease back the strategically important UK-US military base on Diego Garcia could also be a contentious issue with Mr Trump.

Foreign Secretary David Lammy, who is also in Washington, told ITV’s Peston: ‘If President Trump doesn’t like the deal, the deal will not go forward.

‘The reason for that is because we have a shared military and intelligence interest with the United States, and of course they’ve got to be happy with the deal, or there is no deal.’

Sir Keir could try to use Mr Trump’s love of the royal family to win the president’s favour – with speculation that an invitation for a state visit could be on offer.

A trip to see the King in Balmoral could play into both Mr Trump’s fondness for the monarchy and his links to Scotland – where his mother was born and where he has two golf resorts.

Sir Keir said the possibility of a second state visit for Mr Trump was a ‘matter for His Majesty the King’ but Mr Trump was ‘very fond of the royal family’.

Downing Street hopes the talks with Mr Trump will focus on cutting-edge technology and artificial intelligence partnerships, including a proposal of high-ambition ‘moonshot’ missions.

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