Keir Starmer has given up hope of meeting Kamala Harris before the US Presidential election.
The Prime Minister said last month that he wanted to meet both of the candidates before the November 5 election. He told reporters ahead of a visit to the UN General Assembly in New York: “As far as the candidates are concerned, look, if possible, it would be very good to meet both of them at some stage before the election.”
The PM met with Mr Trump on the visit, with the pair sitting down for a two-hour dinner at Trump Tower in Manhattan. Aides were also scrambling to set up meetings with Ms Harris but the PM’s hopes of a sit down were dashed.
It is understood that time has run out to schedule for the PM to hold an in-person meeting with the Democratic candidate as campaigning enters its final stretch.
It comes amid a transatlantic row over Labour activists travelling to swing states campaign for the Democrats. Mr Trump’s campaign has filed a formal complaint to the Federal Election Commission, accusing Labour of interfering in the US election.
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The complaint cited a now-deleted Linkedin post sent by Labour’s head of operations Sofia Patel, calling on staff to get involved and telling supporters “we will sort your housing”.
The PM’s press secretary said: “It is entirely common practice for campaigners of all political persuasions from around the world to volunteer in the US elections. We’ve seen that with other political parties at conventions in recent years. That’s always done in line with the rules.”
It also claimed senior party staff held talks with Democratic strategists on Labour’s election victory. However it is understood that Morgan McSweeney, the PM’s chief of staff, and No10 comms chief Matthew Doyle, who were named in the letter, were part of Labour’s traditional delegation to the Democratic convention and were not there to advise the Harris campaign.