Emmanuel Macron has beaten Sir Keir Starmer in the race to talk to incoming US president Donald Trump.

The French President held a congratulatory phone call with Trump before 6pm UK time on Wednesday, roughly two hours before Sir Keir’s conversation closer to 8pm.

The Prime Minister was also behind Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, who has a close relationship with Trump and has regularly heaped praise on the Republican.

There is often a scramble among world leaders to be the first to personally congratulate a new US president over the phone.

When Trump won the presidency for the first time in 2016, it was more than 24 hours before he spoke to Theresa May. She later rushed out to Washington after his inauguration to meet with the incoming leader.

A Downing Street insider played down the significance of the order of the calls to The Telegraph on Thursday, noting that Sir Keir enjoyed a private dinner with Trump in September, unlike several other national leaders.