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Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has sought to minimize the importance of alleged interference by the Labour Party in the American presidential election.
The Trump Campaign has filed a grievance with the Federal Election Commission in Washington searching for an instantaneous investigation – after the Head of Operations for the Labour Party, Sofia Patel, posted on social media that she had “ten spots available” for anybody prepared to journey to North Carolina to marketing campaign for Kamala Harris, including “we will sort your housing”.
She stated she had round 100 present and former celebration employees heading to America earlier than polling day.
The put up, on LinkedIn, has since been deleted.
Foreign nationals are permitted to function volunteers on campaigns in the US so long as they don’t seem to be compensated, in keeping with Federal Election Commission guidelines.
The grievance from the Trump Campaign is each pointed and theatrical.
“When representatives of the British government previously sought to go door-to-door in America, it did not end well for them,” it learn.
That is a matter-of-fact reference to US independence round 250 years in the past.
On issues extra up to date it requests “an immediate investigation” into what it calls “blatant foreign interference”.
Speaking to reporters whereas flying to the Commonwealth Heads of Government Summit in Samoa in the south Pacific, the prime minister stated: “The Labour Party has volunteers, [they] have gone over pretty much every election.
“They’re doing it in their spare time. They’re doing it as volunteers. They’re staying I think with other volunteers over there.”
The Trump Campaign letter to the Federal Election Commission additionally says: “Morgan McSweeney, the Prime Minister’s chief of staff, and Matthew Doyle, director of communications, attended the (Democratic) convention in Chicago and met with Ms Harris’ campaign team.
“Deborah Mattinson, Sir Keir’s director of strategy, also went to Washington in September to brief Ms Harris’ presidential campaign on Labour’s election-winning approach.”
Ms Mattinson no longer works for the Labour Party.
Party sources say Mr Doyle and Mr McSweeney went to the Democratic Convention in their own time, and that the Democratic Party didn’t pay their travel and accommodation costs.
It isn’t clear who did.
Asked if the row risked jeopardising his relationship with Donald Trump, the prime minister said “no” – pointing to the dinner the two men had together at Trump Tower in New York last month.
“We established a good relationship. We’re grateful for him for making the time… for that dinner,” Sir Keir said.
“We had a good, constructive discussion and, of course as prime minister of the United Kingdom I will work with whoever the American people return as their President in their elections, which are very close now.”
Sir Keir has never met the Vice-President Harris, Trump’s Democratic rival.
But he has met President Biden a number of instances since changing into prime minister in July.
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