Sir Keir Starmer has insisted the G20 still matters and is a “really important” forum to bang the drum for British business, despite the decision of Donald Trump to boycott the international summit in South Africa.
Asked what he thought of the US president’s decision, the prime minister simply said Mr Trump had “set out his position”.
The PM added he thought it was “really important to be [at the G20] to talk to other partners and allies so we can get on with the discussions around global issues that have to be addressed, and do have an impact back at home, but also to take the opportunity face to face to further the deals that I want to do for our country”.
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Sir Keir has faced heavy criticism at home for the amount of time he has spent overseas and focusing on international affairs. His trip to South Africa to attend the G20 summit is the 45th country the prime minister has visited since taking office.
Speaking to journalists on the flight over to Johannesburg, Sir Keir defended his decision to fly out days before a difficult budget, saying that the international issues being discussed in South Africa have an impact at home, while the G20 nations are important to Britain’s economy.
“The G20 are the 20 strongest economies in the world, they are very important to the UK,” he said.
“In the last three years, the jobs that have been generated in the UK from countries in the G20 is 200,000 and that focus in the budget will be very much the economy and the cost of living. I will focus on the deals we can do, the business we can do with our partner countries and…
