The prime minister said that his "own personal view", having spent almost an hour in private talks with Biden, as well as attending a dinner for Nato leaders at the White House, was that he was mentally agile.
Asked in a round of broadcast interviews whether the criticism of Biden was misguided, the prime minister said "yes". He added: "My own personal view is he was on good form.
I was very keen obviously to discuss Ukraine, but there were many other issues that we got through." Downing Street said the prime minister did not raise Biden's health, or his future plans, in the meeting.
However, Starmer was asked by reporters about speculation in the US media that he could be suffering from the early symptoms of dementia.
"No, we had a really good bilateral yesterday, we were billed for 45 minutes, we went on for the best part of an hour," he said.
This story is from the July 12, 2024 edition of The Guardian.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the July 12, 2024 edition of The Guardian.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
Macquarie fined £13m for failings that allowed 400 fictitious trades
Macquarie Bank's London branch has been fined £13m by the UK's financial watchdog for \"serious failings\" that allowed one of its junior traders to record more than 400 fictitious trades over a period of 20 months.
Decarbonising Will making 2030 the goal cost more than 2035? Come clean, Labour
The government's plan to decarbonise the electricity system by 2030 is a vast undertaking.
Bosses at Halfords and AO blame budget for predicted price rises
British consumers face paying more for car repairs and new kitchen kit after the retailers Halfords and AO.com warned that the autumn budget had increased their costs.
Fewer women in top FTSE 250 roles as 'glass ceiling' persists
The glass ceiling for women in top roles at FTSE 250 companies is still \"stubbornly in place\", according to research that found the number of women in executive director roles had fallen by more than 10% in the past two years.
Asda revival could take up to five years, says Leighton
It could take three to five years to revive Asda's fortunes, according to the veteran retail boss Allan Leighton, who first helped turn around the supermarket chain more than 20 years ago.
Paradise lost? Cruise ships are having a 'catastrophic impact' on the Bahamas, say activists
Joseph Darville has fond memories of swimming with his young son off the south coast of Grand Bahama island and watching together as dolphins frolicked offshore.
Senior bankers to get bonuses years earlier under new rules
Senior UK bankers will receive their bonuses years earlier under plans by the Bank of England to relax post-financial crisis restrictions.
Romania Pro-Russian's presidential bid troubles Europe
After an upset in the first of three crunch votes that could lead to Romania veering towards a more anti-EU, pro-Russian stance, the country will return to the polls on Sunday for a parliamentary ballot followed, on 8 December, by a presidential runoff.
They were children who looked like me' Netflix show recounts Rio police killings
Netflix show recounts Rio police killings
Ukraine suffers power cuts after Russia launches its biggest drone attack yet
Russia launched its biggest ever drone attack on Ukraine on Monday night and yesterday morning, sending a reported 188 drones into the country against various targets, resulting in power cuts in part of western Ukraine and damage to residential buildings outside Kyiv.