Good morning. Donald Trump was sworn in as US president for the second time today, sparking excitement among supporters in Westminster and what opponents saw as an epochal moment of fear. Nigel FarageThe leader of the British reformists and the main Trump evangelist in the UK, he got so carried away that he told an interviewer that he thought he had a 20/25% chance of becoming Prime Minister when Trump leaves office (January 2029). It's not impossible; but few would consider his chances to be as high as one in four.

Most in Labor politics are, at least privately, terrified of Trump, but the government must work with him, and Keir Starmer, who has invested a lot of energy in trying to build a good personal relationship with the new president, Keir Starmer has issued a statement offering his "warmest congratulations" to Trump on his inauguration. David LammySpeaking on the Today program this morning, the Foreign Secretary said his approach to foreign policy had changed when he was asked whether he had changed his view on Trump since he condemned him in the strongest possible terms. It is based on "progressive realism" and believes that the world is the way it is. He went on to praise Trump, whom he met for dinner with Starmer in New York last September.

The Donald Trump that I met... was incredibly gracious, generous, very keen on being a good host, very funny, very very very friendly, very welcoming and I have to say, about Britain, we The royal family of Scotland, his relationship with his Scottish mother. This is the Donald Trump I found.

There was a survey this week showing that 70% of the world would welcome Donald Trump to power, and 70% of the world would be worried about dictators, literally as much as Donald Trump had them guessing.

We have to take into account the fact that 70 million Americans voted for him, (his share of the vote) more in the African-American community, more in Latinos, more in the Voting is also higher among young people. We must face this fact.

But when host Nick Robinson reminded Lamy, he was faced with an even more embarrassing truth about Trump. Lieutenant General McMaster told the show about Trump and the UK's Chagos Islands deal. McMaster, who first served as Trump's national security adviser for about a year, said the deal for Britain to hand over sovereignty to Mauritius must be renegotiated because of its impact on the Anglo-American air base in Diego Garcia. He said:

I think handing over the Chagoss, or putting the Chagoss in a position where they are vulnerable to coercion by the Chinese Communist Party, I hope we see Donald Trump and the British government reverse that position.

Farage has repeatedly claimed, based on his contacts with them, that the incoming Trump administration is unhappy with the Chagos deal, but few on the Trump team have said so publicly. McMaster will not join the incoming administration, but his comments suggest Trump wants to reconsider.

Asked about the comments, Lamy said the previous government entered into negotiations with Mauritius over the transfer of sovereignty because legal rulings meant it was increasingly difficult for the UK to maintain the status quo. He went on to say:

The deal was carefully studied by the Pentagon, State Department and the White House under the previous administration. There was an interdepartmental process and (they) said it was a good deal. It is correct and legitimate for the new government to consider this issue.

But after discussing the agreement in detail, I found that it was the right agreement to maintain the security of the international community, and I emphasized the importance of the Diego Garcia military base and assets that we have been working with the United States on now throughout my life.

This is the agenda for the day.

morning: Professor Chris Whitty, England's chief medical officer, gave evidence to the Covid inquiry in his vaccine module. In the afternoon, evidence was given by Professor Jonathan Van-Tam, former deputy chief marketing officer, and Dame Jenny Harris, chief executive of HSE.

11.30am: Downing Street holds lobby briefing.

2.30pm: Deputy Prime Minister and Housing Minister Angela Rayner takes questions in the House of Commons.

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