Sir Keir Starmer has been mocked after he awkwardly thought Donald Trump was inviting him on stage to speak at the Gaza peace summit in Egypt.

The UK Prime Minister stood behind the US President as he addressed global media in Sharm El-Sheikh, taking a moment to commend leaders for their roles in facilitating international peace agreements.

Expressing gratitude to a list of countries in alphabetical order for their efforts in international conflicts, Mr. Trump concluded with the United Kingdom, warmly greeting Sir Keir as ‘his friend’.

‘Where is the United Kingdom? Come here,’ Mr Trump said, as a grinning Prime Minister walked up to him, seemingly ready to speak at the podium.

‘Is everything going good?’ Mr Trump asked Sir Keir, who replied, ‘Very good’.

‘It’s great to have you here,’ the President remarked – then, without much ado, he turned away from Sir Keir to carry on with his speech, leaving the PM awkwardly standing at the side.

He appears to purse his lip as he then returns to his place in the line of world leaders, looking bashful for the whole experience.

Italian Prime Minister Georgia Meloni, standing over Trump’s right shoulder, appeared amused by the exchange, seemingly pulling a face.

This incident was noted by observers such as TalkTV’s Jeremy Kyle, who was viewing live. ‘Oh! He’s come up to speak and Trump’s sent him away,’ he chuckled, applauding.

And viewers took to social media to mock Sir Keir for the embarrassing blunder, branding the interaction an ‘epic’ piece of entertainment. 

Starmer was criticized yesterday for allegedly capitalizing on President Trump’s Gaza progress, with claims that he visited Egypt merely for a ‘photo opportunity’ after potentially disrupting the process by recognizing Palestine as a state last month.

Conservatives likened the premier to former Chelsea footballer John Terry, who donned full kit to lift the Champions League trophy despite not participating in the final match.

One person wrote on X: ‘LMAO. Trump just invited Keir Starmer to the stage, letting him think he was inviting him to speak, only to spurn him and send him to the back! I love it!’ 

Another added: ‘It was epic how Trump embarrassed Keir Starmer on the world stage… Trump never forgets… EPIC!’ A third penned: ‘Trump embarrassed you on stage Keir.’ 

In the video, Trump finishes his list of countries, before asking: ‘Where is United Kingdom, where is my friend, Starmer?’

The Prime Minister replied: ‘I am right behind you as usual.’

The President then invited Sir Keir to the stage, saying: ‘Come up here, is everything going good?’ Starmer awkwardly replied, ‘very good’ as he turned toward the microphone. 

The US leader then stepped in front of Starmer and continued his speech. He said: ‘It is very nice that you are here. These people all came on like 20-minute notice and I think it is fantastic.’ 

Sir Keir looked around awkwardly before slowly scuttling back to his place on the stage, sharing a faint smile with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney.

The embarrassing move came just moments after the US President admonished leaders, saying: ‘I have known so many of you for so long. You’re friends of mine, you great people. 

‘I have a couple I don’t like in particular but I won’t tell you who. I have a few actually I don’t like at all but you will never find out who they are. Maybe you will.’ 

But despite the humiliation, Sir Keir later praised the US President for his work at securing a peace deal and said the UK can play a role in decommissioning Hamas’s weaponry as well as monitoring the ceasefire.

Speaking after the summit, the Prime Minister said: ‘Today is a really historic day, so we do need to start there, and real credit to President Trump and the other leaders who got us to this place.

‘But you’re absolutely right. The challenge now is tomorrow and implementation. And therefore yesterday is historic, but what happens tomorrow really matters.

‘And that’s why what I’ve been discussing with leaders all day is what part can we play, and we, the United Kingdom in particular can play a part in monitoring the ceasefire, but also decommissioning the capability of Hamas and their weaponry, drawing on our experience in Northern Ireland.

‘So the question today has already moved to how do we implement, how do we make sure this moves forward, and it’s really important that we keep that focus. We mustn’t have any missteps now.’

The PM has been accused of piggybacking on Mr Trump’s Gaza breakthrough.

He hailed the ‘tireless diplomatic efforts’ of Mr Trump on Monday morning, crediting him with securing the release of hostages held by Hamas.

But Sir Keir was accused of only travelling to Egypt for a ‘photo op’ after risking derailing the process by recognising Palestine as a state last month.

The Trump administration’s Middle East envoy earlier tried to cool tensions after the US ambassador to Israel branded a Cabinet minister ‘delusional’ for suggesting the UK played a ‘key role’.

Starmer was also challenged on Tony Blair’s role on the Gaza peace board, stating it’s ‘for others to decide’ if he forms part of Gaza’s new governing.

A peace plan floated by the White House last month listed Sir Tony as a member of the proposed board.

Starmer said: ‘I think the makeup of the peace board is still being discussed. For my part, I have to say, I’m much more interested in the practical steps.’

Pushed on the question about whether Blair should be involved, Starmer replied: ‘That’s for others to decide. Tony Blair was a great leader of our country, and would make a huge contribution.

‘But I’m not focused on which particular people sit on which particular board. I’m focused on what do we need to do tomorrow, and I mean tomorrow, to make sure this is implemented.’

The PM added that there are ‘discussions going on’ about who will be on the board – but he said he has not put himself forward.

Steve Witkoff praised Britain’s ‘vital role’ – singling out under-fire national security adviser Jonathan Powell for his ‘incredible input’.

The Sharm el-Sheikh summit, co-hosted by Mr Trump and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, comes as part of efforts to secure the fragile ceasefire between Israel and Hamas that has been holding since Friday.

Israel said just after 6am that Hamas had released the first seven hostages into the custody of the Red Cross.

In a statement, Sir Keir said: ‘I share the deep feeling of relief as Avinatan Or and other hostages are released today. But this is also a stark reminder of the treatment that he has been subject to at the hands of Hamas, and the atrocities that shook the world two years ago.

‘Having met his family, I know that no one can truly understand the torture and agony they suffered for two drawn out years and my thoughts are with them. My thoughts are also with the family of Yossi Sharabi, who are still waiting for news.

‘I reiterate my thanks for the tireless diplomatic efforts of the United States, Egypt, Qatar and Türkiye. It is now crucial that we work together to implement President Trump’s peace plan for Gaza, and that will be my focus in Egypt today.

‘Commitment to this plan from all parties will be essential to ending the war and building the foundations for a sustainable path to a long-term peace. The UK will support the crucial next stage of talks to ensure the implementation of the peace plan.’

In TV interviews on Sunday, Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson said the UK played a ‘key role’ in securing the Gaza ceasefire.

However, the US ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee said she was ‘delusional’, and Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu’s deputy foreign minister, Sharren Haskel, bluntly rejected the claim.

Mr Witkoff posted on X this morning: ‘I would like to acknowledge the vital role of the United Kingdom in assisting and coordinating efforts that have led us to this historic day in Israel.

‘In particular, I want to recognize the incredible input and tireless efforts of National Security Advisor Jonathan Powell.’

It is understood Mr Powell has been speaking to Mr Witkoff almost daily. 

Sir Keir is understood to want to draw on the Northern Ireland peace process – which Mr Powell worked on as chief of staff to Sir Tony Blair in No 10 – in talks on ‘decommissioning’ Hamas.

Ahead of the Egyptian summit, Mr Trump travelled to Israel to meet with hostage families and address the parliament there.

He said before his departure that many in both Israel and Arab countries were ‘cheering’ the agreement and that ‘everybody’s amazed and they’re thrilled and we’re going to have an amazing time’.

Speaking to reporters while in the air, Mr Trump deemed the conflict ‘over’, adding: ‘I think people are tired of it.’

He also said he hoped to one day visit Gaza, telling travelling reporters: ‘I’d like to put my feet on it, at least.’

Sir Keir was due to urge those at the Sharm El Sheikh summit to build on the momentum to bring about the second phase of plans to end the conflict.

He was expected to heap praise on Mr Trump and the diplomatic efforts of the other negotiators, as well as commit the UK to playing a key role in rebuilding Gaza.