The US ambassador to Britain has praised Sir Keir Starmer and his “strong team”, including Sue Gray, the former senior civil servant.

Jane Hartley, Washington’s ambassador to the UK, said that Sir Keir and Ms Gray had already been in touch with her and the US Government.

Ms Hartley, who was appointed by Joe Biden, the US president, said that Sir Keir was “pretty consistent” with US policy on Gaza, despite opposition from some Labour members.

The British Government claimed last year that Ms Gray, the former Partygate investigator, broke civil service rules by failing to declare contact with Labour over the job offer to become Sir Keir’s chief of staff.

Ms Hartley said that the UK was lucky to have “smart hardworking people” such as Sir Keir and Rishi Sunak, the Prime Minister, contesting the surprise election.

“I don’t know who is going to win. We look forward to working with the winner and we don’t think this special relationship will be any different,” she told Politico’s Power Play podcast.

“This is an essential relationship and [there’s] a strong team on both sides. And if you look at Keir’s team, very strong, Sue Gray people like that.”

She added: “I think highly of them. I think highly of Keir. I think he’s a very decent man who cares about his country. I think highly of Sue Gray.”

‘Impressive’ achievement

She also praised Mr Sunak for the strength of his team and his “impressive” achievement of cutting inflation.

Ms Hartley said that she thought Sir Keir had been “tough and strong” with his party membership over Gaza, adding: “I’m not saying it’s been easy.”

She said: “Keir Starmer has been very thoughtful in his approach to this. He’s communicating with our government and this is a difficult issue.

“I mean, it’s a difficult issue for President Biden also, but I think what I’ve seen come out of Labour is pretty consistent with what the US policy is.”

Last week, David Lammy, the British shadow foreign secretary, voiced support for the arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court (ICC) for Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli Prime Minister.

Mr Biden had called the warrant for war crimes in Gaza “outrageous” but Mr Lammy said the UK had a legal obligation to comply with warrants from the ICC, which the US does not recognise.

“I don’t think Keir Starmer has said that, has he?” asked Ms Hartley when she was questioned over Labour’s apparent support for the ICC.

Hopes for UK-US trade deal

The ambassador added that she was “sad” to have cancelled a speaking engagement at Cambridge University after the event was targeted by pro-Palestinian protesters.

Ms Hartley also expressed personal support for a UK-US trade deal, which she said she hoped could happen in a second Biden term.

The deal was hailed as one of the great prizes of Brexit but is currently dead in the water.

“Personally, I’m a free trader. Would I personally have liked a free trade deal? Yes, I think I would have but, you know, it has to be fair to both sides,” she said.

Mr Lammy travelled to the US earlier this month, where he met Democrats and Republicans, before November’s presidential elections.

He was reported to have met Donald Trump’s campaign manager during a trip in which he declared Labour will always work with the US, “whoever wins”.

Mr Lammy said that Mr Trump was “often misunderstood” on Nato and European security.

He also ignored Sadiq Khan, the Mayor of London, who challenged him to call out Mr Trump for being racist and sexist.