The special relationship is being stretched across the Atlantic. Aides to Giorgia Meloni and Donald Trump are not speaking. The Italian Prime Minister is furious. The former President is unrepentant. Into this void steps the UK. Whitehall sources confirm emergency talks are being brokered by Number 10. The aim? To prevent a transatlantic fracture that could destabilise Nato.
The row erupted after Trump's latest tirade against European allies. He called Italy's migration policy 'weak'. Meloni fired back, accusing him of 'undermining democracy'. The exchange was private. Until it wasn't. A leak to the Washington Post has now turned a spat into a crisis.
Downing Street moved fast. Sir Keir Starmer's foreign policy advisor, David Lammy, is in Rome. He is talking. He is listening. Then he flies to Mar-a-Lago. The message is simple: cool heads. But the temperature is rising.
Meloni is no pushover. She is a nationalist leader playing to a domestic audience. Trump is a wounded bull. He sees any criticism as a betrayal. The UK, as ever, plays the honest broker. But is it enough?
Sources close to the talks are cautious. 'This is about saving face,' one official told me. 'But also saving the alliance.' The stakes are high. A split between Rome and Washington would embolden Moscow. It would weaken the West's resolve on Ukraine. The UK cannot afford that.
Timing is everything. This comes as Starmer prepares for a crucial G7 summit. He needs unity. Instead, he gets division. The emergency talks are a gamble. They could patch things up. Or they could expose deeper cracks.
What is really going on? This is not just about migration. It is about leadership. Meloni wants to be seen as a global player. Trump wants to reclaim his throne. The UK is caught in the middle. For now, it is playing mediator. But for how long?
The next 48 hours are critical. If Lammy returns with a deal, Starmer will claim a diplomatic win. If not, the fallout will be brutal. Expect more leaks. More posturing. And a very tense G7.
This is a developing story. More to follow.
