Rachel Reeves admits Labour’s choice to not again Donald Trump’s ‘unlawful’ strikes on Iran might hurt UK-US commerce talks – as specialists warn President will slam brakes on deal
Rachel Reeves has appeared to concede that Britain’s failure to back Donald Trump‘s action against Iran could harm UK-US trade talks.
The US President has vented his fury at Sir Keir Starmer over the Prime Minister’s initial refusal to allow him to use British military bases for launching strikes on Iran.
In his latest tirade at the PM, Mr Trump swiped that Sir Keir is ‘not Winston Churchill’ and accused him of being ‘very, very uncooperative’.
Sir Keir announced an ‘Economic Prosperity Deal’ with Mr Trump in May last year across a range of industries, including cars, planes and agriculture.
Some elements of the agreement have yet to be fully negotiated and implemented, while a UK-US technology partnership appears to have been paused.
The US President has not been shy to threaten fresh trade sanctions against those countries who haven’t supported his strikes against Iran, such as Spain.
Experts have warned the ‘thin-skinned’ US President could also slam the brakes on trade cooperation with Britain.
But, in an interview with Bloomberg, Ms Reeves insisted decisions on UK military action shouldn’t be taken with trade concerns in mind.
Rachel Reeves has appeared to concede that Britain’s failure to back Donald Trump’s action against Iran could harm UK-US trade talks
The US President has vented his fury at Sir Keir Starmer over the Prime Minister’s initial refusal to allow him to use British military bases for launching strikes on Iran
‘You can’t make a decision about whether to get British Armed Forces involved in a conflict because it may or may not make it more likely to get a trade deal,’ the Chabcellor said.
‘We judged that there was not a legal basis for offensive action on Iran.’
Mr Trump on Tuesday said the US is ‘cutting off all trade’ with Spain, following criticism of his actions by the country’s socialist PM Pedro Sanchez.
Mr Sanchez has condemned ‘an unjustified, dangerous military intervention outside of international law’ following the American and Israeli strikes on Tehran.
Speaking in the White House – in comments that also saw him lash out at Sir Keir – Mr Trump said: ‘We don’t want anything to do with Spain.’
Reform UK leader Nigel Farage on Wednesday claimed, in the wake of the US President’s outburst at the PM, that the so-called ‘special relationship’ is ‘broken.
He added that Anglo-American relations are ‘the worst it’s been for almost exactly 70 years’.
Sophia Gaston, a geopolitical analyst at King’s College London, told Politico: ‘The downstream risks for Britain here are huge.
‘We do not yet have any viable economic nor security alternative to the United States as our vital partner, and our principled stance may well cost us dearly.’
She said the current row shouldn’t be seen as ‘a death knell in any way’ for the special relationship, but added it does represent ‘a significant test’ which will need to be offset through active diplomacy, including upping UK defence spending.
‘Trump is a deeply thin-skinned man who takes it all personally,’ she continued.
‘He will take his foot off the gas on various things we’re talking about and make the next few months difficult.’
The transatlantic rift between the UK and US has been sparked by Sir Keir’s initial refusal to allow America to use British military bases in their action against Iran over the weekend.
The PM later performed a partial U-turn after Tehran fired retaliatory strikes across the Middle East, with drones and missiles being launched towards British military bases and UK allies in the region.
Late on Sunday, Sir Keir said he had agreed to an American request to use UK bases to protect British nationals and allies in the Middle East.
The PM said he was allowing British bases to be used only for the ‘specific and limited defensive purpose’ of targeting Iran’s missile storage depots and launchers.
Mr Trump has previously referred to asking to use the military base on Diego Garcia, the largest of the Chagos Islands in the Indian Ocean, and RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire, which can handle US heavy bombers.
