Sir Tony Blair has called on the Prime Minister to avoid a retaliation with Donald Trump over the President's controversial tariff plan.
The former Prime Minister said that Starmer should avoid an immediate response, with Blair adding he didn’t really understand the intellectual argument behind the tariff policy.
It comes as Starmer is set to hold series of talks with global leaders this weekend as global markets plummeted following retaliatory measures from China.
Blair told students at King’s College London that while he supported Starmer's "cool head approach" he added: "I don’t think it is in the UK’s best interest to retaliate."
Tony Blair launches startling intervention over Trump tariffs as he begs Starmer not to retaliatePA
The UK’s top stocks slid heavily in value on Friday after worries about the plans following Trump's "Liberation Day" announcement.
London’s FTSE 100 Index of companies dropped by 3.8 per cent or about 323 points, to 8,151.05 by Noon on Friday.
The index started lower but saw early losses worsen sharply after China announced it will impose a 34 per cent reciprocal tariff on imports of all US products.
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It dragged the FTSE 100 to its lowest level since December and has put it on track for its heaviest daily drop for two years.
Banking stocks were among the heavier fallers, with Barclays dropping by about 11 per cent and NatWest down almost 10 per cent.
The FTSE 100 closed at a years-long low this afternoon as China's response to Donald Trump's tariffs took hold of Britain's stock markets
The FTSE 100 closed at a years-long low this afternoon as China's response to Donald Trump's tariffs took hold of Britain's stock markets
GETTYThe index bottomed out at just over 8,000 points - down more than 400 points from Thursday's close - a level not seen since March 2020.
Its final drop - 4.95 per cent down - was a steeper decline than on February 24, 2022, when Russia invaded Ukraine, as well as the day the Omicron Covid variant was announced.
It came after China, now facing a total of 54 per cent tariffs on exports to the US, vowed to impose additional 34 per cent tariffs on all American imports from April 10.
