Brown and Cameron to court McCain
US presidential hopeful John McCain will meet with Gordon Brown and David Cameron later today.
The presumptive Republican nominee for this November’s race to succeed George Bush in the White House is taking a brief break from the domestic campaign trail by touring abroad.
London is the latest stop on his travels and he will meet with the prime minister and opposition leader in separate meetings.
Analysts say Mr Brown’s frosty demeanour with Mr Bush, heavily contrasting with his predecessor Tony Blair’s friendly transatlantic relationships, suggests the pair could struggle to see eye to eye.
But Mr McCain is noted for being on the liberal wing of the largely right-wing Republican party and the main issue between them will be Iraq. The fifth anniversary of the US-led ousting of Saddam Hussein takes place today.
Last week Mr McCain expressed concern about British withdrawal from the south of the country.
The prime minister announced last autumn the handover to Iraqi authorities will see UK forces maintaining a more “limited re-intervention capacity” in its “overwatch” duties. Troop numbers are due to be cut from 5,500 to 2,500 by the spring.
Mr McCain spoke out against the policy while campaigning in the US last week.
The Daily Telegraph quoted him as saying: “With all due respect I remain concerned about the situation in Basra. There are different factions that have taken over certain areas in Basra city and province. Everybody knows that, it’s not a secret.
“My aspiration is that if we show success in Iraq that our European allies will come in and help out in the myriad of ways necessary to rebuild that tragic, wartorn country.”
The 71-year-old is expected to forge stronger links with Mr Cameron, who broke with convention by endorsing him before he beat rival Mike Huckabee.
Mr McCain spoke at the 2006 Tory conference in Bournemouth, where he praised Mr Cameron’s “very able and determined leadership”.
