Ed Miliband visits Washington to meet Marco Rubio
Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband traveled to Washington to meet US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, with discussions focused on Ukraine and energy cooperation.
The Full Story
A plain summary built from the channels that reported this story.
Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband has arrived in Washington for his first official visit to the United States since taking the job. He is due to meet US Secretary of State Marco Rubio for the second time since becoming foreign secretary, following an earlier encounter at a summit in Manila. The meeting is seen as a positive sign, with Rubio having invited Miliband to Washington.
The discussions are expected to cover a range of urgent global issues, including the war in Ukraine, the conflict in Gaza, and the situation in Iran, particularly the closure of the Strait of Hormuz. Miliband is expected to stress that Britain stands firmly behind Ukraine and that Ukraine's security is essential to European security. On Iran, he will likely discuss how the UK can help reopen the Strait of Hormuz, possibly through a European naval force.
However, the visit is not without diplomatic challenges. Miliband has a history of strong criticism of President Donald Trump, having called him a racist, misogynist, and self-confessed groper in 2016. The Trump administration is also wary of Miliband's strong support for net zero and opposition to North Sea oil drilling, with some US officials reportedly nicknaming him "Ed Milliwatt." Despite this, both sides appear keen to focus on substantive issues rather than past remarks. Former British Ambassador to the US Lord Darroch noted that many European ministers have had to deal with similar baggage and that the relationship between Rubio and Miliband is likely to be productive, given the shared need to cooperate on security matters.
The meeting comes as the UK government pushes for a stronger defence posture, though US officials are said to want harder deadlines for reaching 3% or 3.5% of GDP on defence spending. The talks are seen as a test of whether Miliband can build a working relationship with an administration that is ideologically distant from his own views.
On screen
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Key Claims
Claims reported during this story's coverage, mapped by channel. Ordered by how many channels carried each claim.
| Claim | BBC Two | Sky News |
|---|---|---|
| Ed Miliband arrived in Washington for a second meeting with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, with discussions covering Ukraine, energy, and the Strait of Hormuz, and he will state that the UK stands firmly behind Ukraine for European security. | ||
| Americans have nicknamed Miliband 'Ed Milliwatt' because of his support for net zero and opposition to drilling. | · | |
| Miliband previously called Trump a racist, misogynist, and self-confessed groper in 2016. | · | |
| The Trump administration is reportedly not a fan of Miliband due to his opposition to North Sea oil drilling. | · |
Channel Perspectives
What each channel focused on, with key quotes.
BBC Two's Newsnight focused on the delicate nature of Miliband's mission, highlighting the Trump administration's dislike of his stance on North Sea oil drilling and net zero. The segment included a discussion on how other leaders have handled Trump, offering tips for Miliband to project strength while offering something Trump wants. The tone was analytical and slightly speculative, with a panel discussing the 'special relationship' and the likelihood of the two men getting on.
- “it's potentially quite a delicate diplomatic mission for the new foreign secretary because it's no great secret that the Trump administration are not his greatest fan because he's very wary of North Sea oil drilling.”
- “I think that there are some tips that Ed Miliband can take, which is be yourself, don't do much special pleading about the special relationship and also offer him something he thinks he wants that you are already going to do.”
- “The bumps in the road are Trump's personality, arguments over energy and arguments over things like Iran. But nonetheless, after all these years, we're still in it together.”
Sky News focused heavily on the personal and political awkwardness of Miliband's past insults towards Donald Trump, including a direct question from their correspondent about whether he still holds those views. The report also highlighted the 'Ed Milliwatt' nickname used by Americans due to his net zero stance. The tone was more confrontational and newsy, with a live interview with former ambassador Lord Darroch discussing the baggage and the need to focus on substantive issues like Ukraine, Gaza, and Iran.
- “Miliband, Ed Miliband, he did say in 2016 about the President that he was a racist, misogynistic, self-confessed groper. Separately he said that he lowered the bar for idiocy.”
- “The Americans, they've got an insult of their own for Miliband. They call him Ed Milliwatt. They call him that because of his support for net zero and for no drilling.”
- “I think we have more than enough to talk about without talking about all this stuff and remember, if you go back on Marco Rubio's own record, he ran against Donald Trump in 2016 and said some fairly critical things about Trump during that campaign.”
Broadcast Timeline
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