Starmer says Biden was on 'good form' during meeting at Nato
ITV News Deputy Political Editor Anushka Asthana sat down with Prime Minister Keir Starmer to talk about Joe Biden's health and the crisis in UK prisons
Sir Keir Starmer says Biden was on "good form" when they met on Wednesday as he praised the US President for taking part in a meeting for "the best part of an hour".
This week, Starmer made his first international trip as PM to the 75th Nato summit in Washington DC.
But all eyes were on President Joe Biden, 81, as he tries to face off calls for him to step down because of concerns about his age and health.
In an interview with ITV News' Deputy Political Editor Anushka Asthana, the prime minister said his meeting with Biden was productive and busy: "We went through a lot of material in detail, at pace, in my view he was on good form".
"He was on good form": Starmer says Biden isn't too old to run again for President
"We were supposed to have 45 minutes for a bilateral yesterday, we ended up having the best part of an hour," Starmer said.
When pressed on his plans to make members of the House of Lords retire at 80, Starmer said that was no reflection on his thoughts about Biden's age, but just part of an effort to cut numbers in the unelected chamber.
"Our decision on the House of Lords is all to do with the numbers." he said.
Pressure is mounting on Biden to step down as the Democratic nominee after his performance at last month's presidential debate.
On Wednesday, he was dealt two blows after actor and lifelong Democrat George Clooney said "we are not going to win" with Biden, and former Speaker Nancy Pelosi said he had a "decision" to make about his future.
Peter Welch, the first Democratic Senator who called on Biden to step down, said on Wednesday that the president should quit "for the good of the country."
"There will be exclusions": Starmer on plan to let more prisoners out early
ITV News' Anushka Asthana also quizzed the new PM about the crisis in Britain's prisons, and Labour's plans to release more prisoners early.
Starmer said "there will be exclusions" on the kinds of prisoners who are able to be released early.
ITV News reported on Wednesday that those exclusions are likely to apply to those convicted of sex crimes and serious violence.
"I can't tell you how frustrated I am to be put in this position by the previous government - it's worse than we thought," Starmer said.
"It's a catastrophic failure, it's reckless to have allowed this to happen. We'll have to take the necessary action."
The automatic release point on standard determinate sentences currently stands at 50% of the sentence, but could be reduced to 40%.
When asked whether he would consider sentencing fewer people to prison for lesser crimes because of high levels of reoffending, the PM told ITV News: "In terms of the reoffending rates... we do need to address that, because far too many people find themselves straight back in prison."
Starmer ruled out setting up a Royal Commission on sentencing.
The prison population is currently at 87,453, edging dangerously close to the maximum capacity of 88,864.
The Ministry of Justice projects the population will rise further to hit 99,300 by the end of 2025. While new prisons are being built, they can't keep up with the demand for cells, with only 4,400 new places planned compared to 12,000 more prisoners.
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