US President Donald Trump has said he has "a disagreement with the prime minister on that score" when asked about British Prime Minister Keir Starmer's plan to recognise a Palestinian state.
Mr Starmer plans to recognise Palestinian statehood ahead of the United Nations General Assembly in New York this month, if Israel does not meet a series of conditions to improve the humanitarian situation in Gaza.
British recognition of Palestine is all but guaranteed, as Israel has already said it is opposed to Mr Starmer’s conditions - including agreeing to a ceasefire, a two-state solution to peace, and halting annexations in the West Bank.
The US under Mr Trump remains staunchly opposed to the idea of recognising a Palestinian state, and has also refused to grant visas to Palestinian officials for the coming UN gathering.
"I have a disagreement with the prime minister on that score, one of our few disagreements actually," the US president told journalists at a press conference at Chequers when asked about the British intention to recognise Palestine.
Mr Trump also insisted that "we have to have the hostages back immediately".
He also accused Palestinian militant group Hamas of "putting the hostages up as bait" and described this as "pretty brutal".
Mr Starmer, meanwhile, confirmed the pair had discussed his intention to recognise Palestinian statehood as they met in private.
Recognition needs to be seen as "part of that overall package which hopefully takes us from the appalling situation we're in now to the outcome of a safe and secure Israel, which we do not have, and a viable Palestinian state", Mr Starmer added.
'He's really let me down' - Trump expresses disappointment with Putin
During the earlier press conference, he British prime minister said the UK and US are working together to "end the humanitarian catastrophe" in the Middle East and to put pressure on Vladimir Putin to get him to agree to a peace deal with Ukraine.
Speaking alongside Mr Trump at Chequers, he said: "We are also united in the pursuit of peace.
"We are working together to end the humanitarian catastrophe in the Middle East, get the aid in, free the hostages and ultimately bring Israel and the region back towards a comprehensive plan which can deliver peace and security for Israelis and Palestinians alike."
He added: "We're also working together to end the killing in Ukraine.
"In recent days, Putin has shown his true face, mounting the biggest attack since the invasion began, with yet more bloodshed, yet more innocents killed, and unprecedented violations of NATO airspace.
"These are not the actions of someone who wants peace. So, we've discussed today how we can build our defences further to support Ukraine and decisively increase the pressure on Putin to get him to agree a peace deal that will last."
Mr Starmer said he had discussed with Mr Trump ways to increase defence support for Ukraine and increase pressure on Russian President Vladimir Putin to agree to a peace deal.
"We have discussed today how we can build our defences,further support Ukraine and decisively increase the pressure on Putin to get him to agree a peace deal that will last," Mr Starmer told reporters.
Mr Trump said he has been "let down" by Mr Putin amid stalled peace efforts following weeks of Russian attacks on Ukraine.
"I'm very honoured to tell you that we’ve solved seven wars, seven wars, wars that were unsolvable, wars that couldn’t be negotiated or done, the US has done seven of them.
"The one that I thought would be easiest would be because of my relationship with President Putin, but he’s let me down.
"He’s really let me down. Was going to be Russia and Ukraine, but we’ll see how that turns out. I thought it might be among the easiest of the group."
'I don't know him' - Trump on Mandelson
Meanwhile, Mr Trump said "I don't know him" when asked at a press conference whether he had sympathy with former UK ambassador to the US Lord Peter Mandelson for being sacked over historic links to paedophile Jeffrey Epstein.
The US president said: "I don’t know him actually, I had heard that, and I think maybe the prime minister would be better speaking of that. It was a choice that he made and I don’t know."
Speaking directly to Mr Starmer, Mr Trump said: "What is your answer to that?"
The prime minister replied: "It’s very straightforward. Some information came to light last week which wasn’t available when he was appointed, and I made a decision about it, and that’s very clear."
When asked about the killing of US political commentator Charlie Kirk, Mr Starmer expressed his shock.
He said: "On the question of Charlie Kirk, can I just express how shocking that is, I think, to everybody who believes in free speech and in democracy.
"It sent shockwaves through the world and I know that he was a friend of the president, and I reached out straight away to the president, because I understood how impactful it would be on him and his family, and we all need to be absolutely clear about that: whatever our political views, it is shocking and is to be condemned."
Earlier, Mr Trump and Mr Starmer formally signed a tech partnership to strengthen cooperation in artificial intelligence, quantum computing and nuclear energy.
"It is the biggest investment package of its kind in British history," Mr Starmer said at his country residence Chequers during Mr Trump's UK state visit, calling the agreement "groundbreaking."
Mr Trump's visit has delivered pledges from mostly US tech giants and financial groups to invest a combined £150bn ($205bn) in the UK over several years.
Mr Trump joked that Mr Starmer is a "tough negotiator" and that the US-UK trade deal "was a better deal for you than us".
The US president left Windsor Castle this morning and arrived at the prime minister's country residence in Buckinghamshire, Chequers, by Marine One helicopter.
He has since departed the UK on board Air Force One.
Overnight, Mr Starmer announced the prospect of some £150 billion flowing into the UK from big US firms such as Blackstone and Palantir.
Watch: UK and US 'two notes in one chord', Trump tells banquet
Mr Trump said the decision was great news for America.
Yesterday evening, Mr Trump was the guest of honour at a lavish state banquet in Windsor Castle, hosted by the King.
There, he paid a heartfelt tribute to America's relationship with the UK, saying the word "special does not begin to do it justice", and claimed the nations were "two notes in one chord".
Among those at the banquet were the chiefs of major American firms, including big names from the tech world Sam Altman of OpenAI, Tim Cook of Apple, and Jensen Huang, the founder of Nvidia.
Media mogul Rupert Murdoch was also a guest, despite being sued by the US president over a report linking him to Epstein.
Thousands marched through London yesterday in protest against the US president's state visit.
YouGov polling suggests nearly half of the British population (45%) believe it was wrong to invite Mr Trump for the visit, while 30% think it was right to do so.
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Additional reporting by Tommy Meskill, AFP
