Ed Miliband has hailed the US as the UK’s “closest ally” after holding talks with his counterpart in Washington, as he denied his previous criticism of “racist” Donald Trump had harmed relations with the White House. Mr Miliband insisted that the partnership with Washington endures and that it would do so “through successive administrations”. Washington’s ambassador to the UK Warren Stephens said recently that Mr Miliband had been “wrong” in 2016 to call Mr Trump “a racist, misogynistic, self-confessed groper” and that “hopefully his views have changed”. He also pledged to work with Mr Miliband in his new role, despite their disagreement on green issues. “They’re our closest ally when it comes to the importance of our economic partnership, our defence partnership, our security partnership, our intelligence partnership.