Keir Starmer‘s softly-softly efforts to influence Donald Trump to alter tack over Ukraine have been dealt a major blow after it was revealed France‘s Emmanuel Macron will be the first European leader to visit the new president. 

The White House last night confirmed that both the Prime Minister and Mr Macron will head to Washington DC next week, in the wake of America’s astonishing U-turn over supporting Ukraine. 

Sir Keir has quietly contradicted the US president over his tirade against Ukraine’s president Zelensky, having said he was wrong to brand the war leader a ‘dictator’ for postponing elections after his country was invaded by Russia.

He has also developed a position far more friendly with the Kremlin regime of autocrat Vladimir Putin. 

The UK government is pursuing a path of soft diplomacy, hoping it can be used to persuade Trump to alter course and restore US backing for Ukraine’s war effort. 

But it is the much more strident French president who will visit first, having vowed to tell the notoriously thin-skinned US president not to be ‘weak’ over support for Kyiv.

Mr Macron said that he respected Trump and would try to convince him it was in his interest to stay the course.

But he added: ‘I’m going to tell him that he can’t be weak in the face of Putin when he’ll have to face China next. 

‘That’s not you, it’s not your trademark, it’s not in your interest. It would be a huge strategic mistake.’ 

It came as a new YouGov poll showed that Brits back supporting Ukraine, even at the expense of the UK’s relationship with the US.

Tensions between Ukraine and the US appeared to deepen further last night after a planned news conference with Mr Zelensky and the US’s Ukraine envoy, retired general Keith Kellogg, was cancelled.

Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey today urged the pm to take a tougher approach in his own talks with Trump. 

Sir Ed told BBC Radio 4’s Today Programme: ‘It is a very difficult visit there’s no doubt about that, but I do think you have to speak to your friends honestly and openly.

‘The threat that Donald Trump poses to our economy and security is as serious as I can ever remember.

‘Whether it’s the threat of terror to our country, indeed to our friends in the Commonwealth and Europe, or whether it’s what he’s saying with President Putin and Russia and Ukraine, I think we’re all astonished and deeply alarmed, and if the British Prime Minister doesn’t reflect that, he’s not reflecting the views of the British people.’

Sir Keir is also facing pressure to commit to increasing the UK’s defence budget when he meets Trump. 

General Richard Shirreff told the i newspaper the PM would be ‘laughed out of court’ by Trump if he turned up next week empty-handed.

Sir Keir has until now refused to say when funding for the Armed Forces will reach 2.5 per cent of GDP, with an announcement long scheduled for the spring.

But he has come under fresh pressure to speed up the decision since the dramatic events of the past week, when the US warned Europe it must shoulder more of the burden for its security and Sir Keir raised the prospect of British troops serving as a peacekeeping force in Ukraine.

Former British ambassador to the US Lord Darroch urged the Prime Minister to make an announcement on military funding, saying it was ‘essential’ for him to broach the subject with Mr Trump, who wants Nato members to spend as much as 5 per cent of GDP on defence.

It was reported yesterday that Sir Keir may soon announce defence spending – currently at 2.3 per cent of GDP or £54billion a year – will reach the milestone of 2.5 per cent by 2030.

According to the London Standard, he may even go further and say he wants the figure to reach 3 per cent by 2035.

Nato is currently revising its benchmark for all members from 2 per cent to above 3 per cent.

Labour has so far not said it will raise the extra money needed to reach the existing target.

When the Tories vowed to reach 2.5 per cent by 2030 during last year’s election campaign, they said it would mean spending reaching £87billion a year by the end of the decade. But the Chancellor insisted yesterday she was ‘absolutely committed’ to reaching the target.

Speaking to broadcasters at Warner Bros studios near Watford, Rachel Reeves said: ‘The world has changed in the past few months and we’re committed to play our part in protecting our UK national security and also protecting the security of Europe too.

‘Given this changed international environment we operate in, we will set out that path to get to 2.5 per cent of GDP. We will do it in the proper way, but no one should be in any doubt about my commitment to spend 2.5 per cent of GDP on defence.’

But Mr Trump’s Vice President has said he will repeat to Sir Keir’s delegation his devastating critique of Europe and Britain for abandoning freedom of speech, first made at the Munich Security Conference last week.

JD Vance told The National Pulse website: ‘We certainly will. We’re simply telling them to respect the values on which our civilisation was founded, that you ought to debate with one another, you ought to, you know, your government should respect when the people have a dissenting viewpoint.’