Starmer urged to cancel Trump’s UK visit

Sir Keir Starmer is being urged by the Firefighters union to cancel the US President’s state visit to the UK next month.

The Fire Brigades Union (FBU) said that firefighters will be sent to Chequers to simple “sit outside” stately home in Buckinghamshire at a time when the “fires service is on its knees.”

The FBU warned that the fire service is “stretched to breaking point” as there has been cuts, flooding and wildfires.

General secretary Steve Wright said: “Donald Trump is a toxic, authoritarian billionaire who has waged a war on workers and the living standards of ordinary Americans, and enacted a brutal, racist anti-migrant policy at odds with basic humanitarian values.

“Rolling out the red carpet for him with an unprecedented second state visit was always a shocking move for a Labour Government. Now we learn that fire cover may be compromised to accommodate it. This could hamper response times and public safety.

“Keir Starmer must cancel this state visit.”

Chris Wycherley, FBU executive council member for the Southern region, said: “Fifteen years of cuts mean the fire service is on its knees, and Buckinghamshire has spent all summer suffering a lack of resources.

“We have had wildfires, hot temperatures and low rainfall. Those conditions could well still be in place throughout September.

“We have now found that the service has been asked to deploy fire engines and a water tanker to sit outside Chequers for President Trump’s visit.

“Firefighters and members of the public will rightly regard that as a cruel joke. The fire service exists to save lives, not to put on a show for far-right foreign leaders.”