NEW: UK's Starmer Defends His Country's Laws on Free Speech, Gaza Two-State Solution in Interview

U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer took part in a sit-down interview with Fox News' Bret Baier on Thursday evening on a wide variety of issues, after meeting with President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance at the White House earlier in the day and taking part in a press conference with the former.

As my colleague Bonchie also wrote on Thursday, the "Special Report" anchor had a slight distraction of his own, when he politely and professionally noted former NBC News anchor Chuck Todd's caustic remarks about him, during a public forum event. Baier made an off-handed comment that he was focused on getting ready for the evening's interview with the U.K. prime minister.

Chuck Todd Slams Bret Baier; the Fox News Host Delivers a Savage Response

The interview comes ahead of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's visit to Washington on Friday, when he is expected to sign an agreement with the U.S. on mineral rights. Baier is scheduled to interview him on Friday afternoon.

The anchor asked Starmer whether he and the president talked about Gaza during their meeting, and what his view is on that issue

The prime minister mentioned it "came up" during the press conference, then equated the emotional video of the reunion of a U.K. hostage of Hamas with her mother, with images of "the thousands of Palestinians, walking through rubble to try to find their homes."

He told Baier that "[his] own view is, and remains, that the two-state solution is the only solution that's going to bring about a lasting peace which is desperately needed."

You can watch his nearly identical remarks from the presser about a peace deal between Israel and Hamas, below:

Starmer said:

We need to allow Palestinians to return and to rebuild their lives. We must all support them in doing that. And yes, I believe that the two-state solution is ultimately the only way for a lasting peace in the region.

WATCH: Donald Trump Nails a Reporter While Netanyahu Tries Not to Burst Out Laughing

When Baier pressed him on whether the U.K. would provide peacekeepers in Gaza, PM Starmer refused to answer, saying that it's too early in the process, and that the most important thing is that the ceasefire process continues, for more hostages to be released and aid can go into Gaza.

His hope "is that we can create the space for the discussion about the future, which, for me, ultimately, does need to get back to the argument about a two-state solution," the prime minister said.

The anchor then turned to an interaction earlier in the day between PM Starmer and Vice President JD Vance on the dire state of free speech in the U.K. In case you missed it, here's a clip for context:

Watch:

Keir Starmer appeared to be caught off-guard by JD Vance's directness. He sputtered out some word salad about the United Kingdom having free speech for "a very, very long time, and it will last for a very, very long time...I'm very proud of our history there."

Baier asked him to respond to Vance's criticism, which centers on the Online Safety Act, flatly asking Starmer whether his nation and the European Union are trying to "censor speech":

After a few seconds of stammering, Starmer stated:

We don't believe in censoring speech, but of course we need to deal with terrorism, we need to deal with pedophiles, and issues like that.

He said that he and Vance "had a good exchange" about the issue, adding:

[Vance is] right to champion free speech, we champion free speech in the United Kingdom. And in relation to the measures we've taken, obviously we're very mindful that it shouldn't have an impact on U.S. citizens.

George Washington University Law School professor, Jonathan Turley vehemently disagreed with Starmer's characterization of where things stand in the U.K, going on to describe their laws' chilling effect on freedom of expression as "perfectly Orwellian":

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You can watch the full interview below: