Harris and Starmer toast to an 'important reset of relations' between Ireland and UK 

Keir Starmer has work to do in rebuilding the UK's relationships with its continental neighbours, but his tone this week has hit the right notes

Prime minister Keir Starmer and Taoiseach Simon Harris drink a pint of Guinness during his visit to Chequers, near Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire. Picture: Carl Court/PA

The leader of a nuclear power and our closest neighbour affirming his commitment to the international rule of law shouldn't really be a cause for celebration, but the bar has kind of slipped in recent years.

Speaking at the ancestral home of Winston Churchill, Blenheim Palace, Keir Starmer was keen to strike a more conciliatory tone than the four holders of his new office since 2016 have.