Donald Trump told Keir Starmer 'your policies are stupid' just months before ex-PM left No10

US President Donald Trump told Sir Keir Starmer "your policies are stupid" behind closed doors, a former White House aide has revealed.

The President laid into the former Prime Minister just months before Sir Keir left Downing Street.

Just days before Sir Keir announced his departure, President Trump said: "I wish him well!" as he said the Prime Minister "failed badly" on immigration and energy policy.

Speaking to Fox News, ex-White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt described how President Trump issued a scathing attack on the then-Prime Minister behind closed doors.

She said: "I sat in on a lunch with the president and Starmer and we're sitting around the table, and we're all enjoying lunch.

"We were in this beautiful place. And the President just starts ripping into him for his policies.

"He's like, 'Your policies here are so stupid. You need to close your borders.' ’You need to deport these people you have in your country. I know your country, I know your people, they hate what you're doing.'"

Ms Leavitt made it clear President Trump takes a similar blunt approach with other world leaders.

She added: "What he says to the media publicly is exactly what he's saying behind the scenes privately, too.

"In fact, much of what he says privately at some point is going to become public when he speaks to the press, because he's just candid, and he's honest.

"What he says with these foreign leaders behind the scenes is exactly what he tells the media five minutes later when he does a press conference. There's no games."

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The relationship between Sir Keir and President Trump fluctuated during the former Labour leader's tenure in Downing Street.

Steve Witkoff, President Trump’s special envoy and close ally, said the two had become "an unlikely duo", telling Politico last year: "They both share a view about how to work together."

He added: "The President is very open to listening to Starmer’s views, irrespective of political ideology."

However, speaking after yesterday's UN General Assembly, President Trump asserted his relationship with the UK is "more up" with Andy Burnham in comparison to his predecessor.

Ms Leavitt went on to discuss the often "tense" interactions President Trump has with Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin, saying he often is far more "straightforward" in these conversations.

Speaking about a summit with Xi in South Korea, the former White House insider said: "The President was very honest about the fentanyl coming into the country and the precursors to the fentanyl that were manufactured in China.

"He brought that up as a sticking point and said, ‘You have to do something about that' and sure enough, a couple weeks later, I think it was [FBI Director] Kash Patel who announced that those precursors would no longer be sent here.

"So, [President Trump] demanded results on behalf of our country, and he made sure that they were delivered upon."