LONDON (Reuters) – Donald Trump gave British Prime Minister Keir Starmer two signed baseball caps when the pair met for the first time last year, a transparency declaration from Starmer’s office showed on Thursday.
Starmer met Trump, the then-Republican presidential nominee, at Trump Tower in September when the British leader was in New York for the United Nations General Assembly.
The caps were among a number of items that Starmer declared as gifts, in line with transparency rules which require public disclosure of any gift received in a ministerial capacity whose value exceeds 140 pounds ($175).
Starmer’s declaration listed the date he received the caps as Sept. 26 — the day he met Trump — but gave little other detail. Downing Street declined further comment.
For Starmer, the meeting came as questions swirled over the impact of a possible Trump presidency on U.S.-British relations, given sharp criticism of Trump in the past from senior figures in Starmer’s ministerial team.
Starmer also declared Taylor Swift merchandise, received from music group Universal in August last year, when the U.S. pop superstar performed a series of concerts in London.
The acceptance of freebies landed Starmer and other Labour politicians in hot water last year. Following criticism Starmer repaid thousands of pounds in gifts including the cost of six tickets for a Swift concert.
Other gifts disclosed by Starmer include Team GB Olympic sportswear from Britain’s team for the Paris games, a watch, baseball, book and sunglasses from former U.S. President Joe Biden, a pair of whisky glasses from carmaker Nissan and a silver dagger from the Sultan of Oman.
Ministers have the option to purchase such gifts with their own money or leave them in the hands of their office. The data showed Starmer purchased the Swift merchandise, while the caps from Trump were listed as “Held by department”.
($1 = 0.8025 pounds)
(Reporting by Sachin Ravikumar; editing by William James)
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