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Welcome back. It’s the second day of the diplomatic tour, and after yesterday’s ceremonies, today’s key issues. Donald Trump is departing from Windsor Castle and heading to Chequers, where he will have confidential meetings with the prime minister before the two leaders hold a news event.

In his remarks at the official dinner last night, Trump employed some uncharacteristically elegant and lovely analogies to characterize the transatlantic bond. He stated:

We’re joined by the past and shared values, by love and common tongue and by profound ties of society, custom, ancestry and fate.

We are like a pair of tones in one chord or complementary lines of the same poem, each striking on its own, but truly meant to be performed together.

Starmer justifies his use of diplomatic praise with Trump on the grounds that it serves the UK and, with the government announcing US funding in the UK worth £150bn, there is indication to suggest it’s working.

But, to revisit to Trump’s metaphor, there are critics who believe that, if anything is being “manipulated” in all of this, it’s Britain.

On the morning broadcast this morning, Clegg almost expressing this opinion. As a ex- Lib Dem deputy PM in the 2010-15 government, and a former president of global affairs at Meta, he is highly qualified to reflect on the partnership. Clegg stated on Today that the AI investments being unveiled for the UK were “crumbs from the American tech table”. He continued he thought the UK had become excessively leaning on stateside technology. And he went on:

Because of the extremely tight alliance we have had with the United States, naturally in the historical period, I think we’ve been fairly relaxed about this significant dependence … both in the public and the private sector, on US technology.

I personally to believe that is now evolving because the split – regardless of the pageantry of the official trip by Donald Trump this week – the transatlantic break, in my estimation, is genuine.

I think the Americans – and we’ve been on notice for this for ages – are shifting their attention to the Indo-Pacific. They have far fewer commitment to the US-European relationship.

So my perspective is, over time, UK leaders need to learn to pose new questions to how we can extend the VIP treatment to US investment, welcome as that is. We need to consider questions about how we can develop and scale … our own digital companies to the size they need be.

Clegg noted the UK was dealing with “a significant dilemma”.

We have got to learn, digitally, as much as in so many other sectors, to depend more on our own two feet, rather than just cling on to Uncle Sam’s coattails.

Although that served us well for a while, I think that’s no longer going to be the approach that works for us going forward.

Here is the agenda for the day.

• Ten in the morning: Donald Trump exits Windsor Castle
• Late morning: Melania Trump and Queen Camilla tour Queen Mary’s Dolls’ House in Windsor and Frogmore Gardens
• 10:45 AM: Trump is expected to appear at Chequers, where he will hold private negotiations with Keir Starmer. The two statesmen are also speaking at an event for executives, and viewing items from the Winston Churchill archive at the mansion, the designated country residence of the PM. And there will be a parachute display by the Red Devils.
• About 2.30pm: Starmer and Trump hold a media event at Chequers.