Donald Trump's Greenland threat obstructed that: Over the weekend, the prime minister and his team have been locked in talks in Downing Street, and with European allies, over how to respond to President Trump's latest audacious move.
The president's threat to apply an additional levy on goods from France, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden and Finland from 1 February is a moment of huge escalation in tensions between allies over Greenland that has astonished and angered.
"It's through the looking glass," opined one official. "We don't know if he's going to back down, what if he doesn't?"
Starmer holds 'short and cordial' call with Trump over Greenland tariff move - latest updates
For now, the prime minister and his team are working to get him to do exactly that.
"As before, we're taking a deep breath and using relationships to figure out exactly where the US are before reacting to every social media post," said one figure involved. "What the PM has said publicly illustrates how we feel and how we have been working on it this weekend."
Read more: Why Trump says the US 'needs' Greenland - and what the fallout could be
Mr Starmer said on Saturday that the decision to impose 10% tariffs on the UK and seven other European countries was "completely wrong" and reiterated his position that the future of Greenland is "a matter for the Greenlanders and the Danes".
On Sunday, the UK issued another joint statement with Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway and Sweden, warning that "tariff threats undermine transatlantic relations and risk a dangerous downward spiral".
This escalation appears to have perhaps been sparked by the decision by these eight European NATO members to carry out a reconnaissance mission to Greenland in recent days.
Prime Minister Meloni of Italy, who spoke to President Trump on Sunday morning, said the White House may have misunderstood the military exercise and not realised it was directed against Russia and China and not the US.
"There could have been a problem of understanding and communication," she said.
"It seems to me that the risk is that the initiatives of some European countries were interpreted as anti-American, which is clearly not the intention."
Allies have since reiterated that point, saying in their Sunday statement that they were "committed to strengthening Arctic security as a shared transatlantic interest".
The "pre-co-ordinated Danish exercise Arctic Endurance, conducted with Allies, respond to this necessity. It poses no threat to anyone".
The allies' intention is to work with the US to strengthen High North security, and this will be the message the prime minister will make when he speaks on the latest developments this week.
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One senior government official said the Trump administration was "not listening to calibrated language when the UK and other European capitals [say they] believe in Arctic security".
European leaders at the annual Davos summit this week - the PM is currently not expected to be attending - will want impress upon him that allies want to work with the US through NATO.
But the big unknown is whether the US wants to work with European allies through NATO.
When it comes to Greenland and security in the High North, President Trump seems to want to work unilaterally.
He has made it clear from the early days of his administration that he wants to annex Greenland, build a bigger America and use this landmass to strengthen US security.
The Danes have clearly told President Trump that he could massively expand US security presence on Greenland, as written into previous treaties, but that doesn't seem to be enough.
It is almost as if President Trump, not a fan of multilateralism, is trying to undermine NATO, just as he is undermining the United Nations by drawing up a Board of Peace to supervise Gaza's transitional administration.
He's also asking 60 countries to contribute $1bn if they want their membership on the board to extend beyond three years.
After fulfilling its initial aim to end the conflict in Gaza, the board would then expand to tackle conflicts elsewhere. On both fronts, President Trump is choosing to turn away from international bodies.
It is a clear pattern.
Last week, he announced his intent to withdraw the US from 66 multilateral forums and retracted billions of dollars in spending from international organisations.
This latest rupture is a reflection of how, in just a year, the certainties that have underpinned our global order have come undone.
The US has shifted from being the foundation stone of the Western alliance to an unreliable ally.
The threats over Greenland must be a red line for the UK and other allies.
On that, the UK is clear.
The prime minister will attempt to negotiate with Trump to see off the tariff threat, but he will not back down over the principle of the sovereignty of Denmark.
Expect Keir Starmer to reiterate the UK's position while also trying to reiterate the UK's close relationship with the US.
I would not expect the PM to use the language of President Macron, who spoke of intimidation and threats, over President Trump's tariff warning.
Instead, the PM will make the case this week that the tariffs are not sensible and not in the interests of the UK or the US.
Back on to what he wants to spend his time talking about, the cost of living, he is also expected to draw a clear line between the need to engage in international affairs to try to drive down household bills at home.
But this is a difficult moment for a prime minister who has prided himself on his ability to negotiate with President Trump to secure better trading terms with the UK.
Lib Dem leader Ed Davey said on Sunday the PM's "US policy lies in tatters" as NATO allies are "punished" by Trump for "doing the right thing".
As for the tariffs, as of Sunday, the government were not sure about the implications of the Trump threat, with information scant on how this particular 10% tariff might apply.
It is possible that the threat will fall away - as happened with the 100% levy on films made outside the US.
But these tensions could also escalate - and all the options are deeply worrying.
From levies and trade wars, to the disintegration of NATO and withdrawal of support for Ukraine. What if the US did decide to use force to take Greenland? Would European armies end up in conflict with the US?
All of it seems unconscionable in a situation that is fast becoming the most serious crisis in transatlantic relations in decades. The UK will do all it can to try to de-escalate, but it won't back down.
The MP for Romford, Essex, announced on Sunday evening he had decided to resign from his position as a shadow foreign office minister in Kemi Badenoch's frontbench and as a member of the Conservative Party.
The move came after former senior Tory Robert Jenrick defected on Thursday. It takes the total number of MPs in Reform UK to seven.
Both Nigel Farage and Mr Jenrick welcomed Mr Rosindell to the party, calling him a "patriot".
Mr Rosindell, who has been an MP since 2001, said it was time to put "country before party" in a statement announcing his defection.
"Since joining the Conservative Party at the age of 14, I have been a loyal and committed supporter of the principles advocated by Margaret Thatcher that have always underpinned my own political beliefs," he wrote.
"However, the time has come to put country before party.
"The failure of the Conservative Party both when in government and more recently in opposition to actively hold the government to account on the issue of Chagossian self-determination and the defence of British sovereignty, represents a clear red line for me."
A Conservative Party source said Mr Rosindell had threatened to defect for months but denied he was doing so until as recently as Saturday.
"The Conservative Party supported Rosindell throughout his many troubles, and he's responded by stabbing his friends, colleagues and activists in the back. Reform are welcome to him," the source said.
Meanwhile, Labour Party chairwoman Anna Turley said the "stench of a failed and drying Tory party engulfs Reform" and a spokesperson for the Liberal Democrats said Mr Rosindell's defection "isn't a political earthquake".
"It's a change of rosette for a career politician worried about getting a P45," they said.
"The public are fed up hearing about how Britain is broken from the very same people who broke it."
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Following the defection of Mr Rosindell, Mr Jenrick and, before that, former Conservative chancellor Nadhim Zahawi, Tory leader Kemi Badenoch said she was "100% confident" she would not see any more of her shadow cabinet leave for Reform.
It comes as the party, headed by Mr Farage has set 7 May - the date of crucial local elections in which they hope to make significant gains - as a cut-off point for admitting current and former MPs, as well as for local councillors to defect.
Asked if she would be on alert for MPs seeking to switch sides before the elections, Ms Badenoch told the Press Association news agency: "I think people should be wondering why they set that deadline."
It has also withdrawn the legislation from Monday's parliamentary agenda entirely after initially planning for its report stage and third reading to go ahead and then bring forward amendments in the House of Lords.
Sky News' deputy political editor Sam Coates said one figure close to the talks described the situation as "absolutely mental".
The law, officially called the Public Office (Accountability) Bill, is designed to make sure authorities face criminal sanctions if they attempt to cover up the facts behind disasters such as the 1989 Hillsborough tragedy, the Grenfell Tower fire and infected blood scandal.
One of the amendments suggested by the government this week meant that spies would be within the scope of the legislation. However, they would only be forced to tell the truth if the head of their service approved it.
Campaign group Hillsborough Law Now argued that it could allow intelligence services to "hide serious failures behind a vague claim of national security".
Now, the government has decided not to push ahead with the amendment, but to work with campaigners and bereaved families to bring forward amendments when the bill reaches the Lords.
Read more:
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"This legislation will right the wrongs of the past, changing the balance of power to ensure the state can never hide from the people it should serve and putting a legal duty on officials to respond openly and honestly when things go wrong," said a government spokesperson.
"The bill will make the police, intelligence agencies and the whole of government more scrutinised than they have ever been, but we can never compromise on national security.
"We will continue to work with all parties to make sure the bill is the strongest it can possibly be, without compromising national security."
Hillsborough Law Now welcomed the move, posting on X: "We welcome the government listening to the campaign, families, MPs and supporters by withdrawing their security services amendment.
"We shall engage further with government to ensure the bill fully applies to the security services whilst not jeopardising national security."
Before the amendment was withdrawn, Liverpool City Region mayor Steve Rotheram and Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham said it risked "undermining the spirit of the legislation" and "creates too broad an opt-out" for the security services.
Liverpool West Derby MP Ian Byrne had said he would not be able to support the legislation with the government's amendments included because of "security service carve-outs".
He had tabled amendments of his own that seek to ensure the duty of candour applies to intelligence officers without such exceptions.
There is, finally, a realisation that President Trump isn't bluffing in his desire to "own" Greenland and a recognition that diplomacy with the erratic US leader might not work this time.
There is also unanimous agreement in European capitals that a forced seizure of Greenland cannot be allowed and the tariffs announced on Saturday against eight countries, including the UK, are wrong.
This is fast becoming the biggest transatlantic crisis in generations.
Trump latest: Follow live updates
There is no agreement in yet on how to respond. EU Ambassadors met in Brussels late on Sunday evening to discuss options and assess national positions.
French President Emmanuel Macron is pushing for the strongest response: triggering the EU's anti-coercion instrument. This is a lever originally designed to fend off states hostile to the EU, such as China, not something to be used against one of the continent's historically closest allies.
Taking this option would allow the EU to impose retaliatory tariffs on the US, limit US investment and trade with Europe and restrict access to the single market.
It's the bloc's most powerful trade weapon; it's never been triggered before and using it against Washington would have been previously unthinkable. Not any longer.
It would almost certainly prompt a backlash from Trump, but it would show the EU is no longer willing to be pushed around by the White House.
Another option being considered is delaying the ratification of the EU-US trade deal that was agreed last summer.
The EU might feel like it's on firm ground here, having finally signed a major free trade agreement this weekend with five South American countries known as the Mercosur bloc.
The countries involved in this agreement account for around 30% of global GDP and the deal will affect around 700 million consumers.
Although a suspension of the EU-US trade deal would also impact Europe, Brussels might feel it's in a stronger position than Washington here.
The third option is to continue with diplomacy and keep fingers crossed for a breakthrough.
Trump said the new tariffs won't kick in until 1 February - that gives the EU and London a window to act. Trump has repeatedly threatened tariffs against countries, only to then delay, reduce or quietly scrap them.
The World Economic Forum gets under way in the Swiss resort of Davos this week.
Read more from Sky News:
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Many of Europe's leaders will be there, as will Trump and the NATO secretary general.
It will be an opportunity for some of them to get in the same room and have face-to-face talks with the US president.
But they will need a stick to wield, so Brussels has only a few days to come up with agreed measures of retaliation to use as leverage and then hope Trump climbs down the ladder.
Firefighters were battling 24 different fires across the country on Sunday, with the worst burning in the Nuble and Bio Bio regions, where the government declared an emergency.
The regions are around 500km (310 miles) south of the capital Santiago.
"In light of the serious ongoing wildfires, I have decided to declare a state of catastrophe in the regions of Nuble and Bio Bío. All resources are available," posted Chilean President Gabriel Boric on X.
But local officials reported that for hours on Sunday, destruction was everywhere and help from the federal government was nowhere.
"Dear President Boric, from the bottom of my heart, I have been here for four hours, a community is burning and there is no (government) presence," said Rodrigo Vera, the mayor of the small coastal town of Penco in the Biobio region.
"How can a minister do nothing but call me to tell me that the military is going to arrive at some point?"
Evacuation efforts saw 50,000 people leaving their homes as more than 300 properties were destroyed, according to Chilean authorities.
Almost 33 square miles are already burned, with multiple communities affected.
Strong winds and unusually high temperatures are making the situation worse, authorities say.
Some residents said that the fires took them by surprise after midnight on Saturday, trapping them in their homes.
"Many people didn't evacuate. They stayed in their houses because they thought the fire would stop at the edge of the forest," said John Guzman, 55, surveying the scene in Penco.
"It was completely out of control. No one expected it."
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Much of Chile is under extreme heat alerts, with temperatures expected to reach up to 38C (100F) from Santiago to Bío Bío on Monday.
Since the beginning of year, both Chile and Argentina have experienced extreme temperatures and heatwaves, with devastating wildfires in Argentina's Patagonia earlier this month.