David Lammy says public ‘see by means of’ Trump insults and ‘particular relationship’ stands
David Lammy said Donald Trump was trying to pile pressure on Keir Starmer over the Iran war with his attacks but said it did not undermine the deep ties between Britain and the US
David Lammy travelled to the Gulf for talks on the Iran crisis(Image: Ministry of Justice)
Deputy PM David Lammy has said the public can see through Donald Trump’s repeated attacks on Keir Starmer as he defended the state of the special relationship.
Mr Lammy said it was clear the US President was trying to pile pressure on the Prime Minister over the Iran war but insisted it did not undermine the deep ties between Britain and the US. His comments came as Mr Trump repeatedly lashed out at the PM, saying this week that special relationship was in a “sad” state as he threatened to rip up the US-UK trade deal signed last year.
The US President’s barrage of insults reveal the pressure on transatlantic relations after Mr Starmer refused to join his war with Iran. But Mr Lammy, a former Foreign Secretary, rejected claims it was under severe strain.
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In a call with the Mirror as he visited the Gulf on Thursday lunchtime, he said: “Look, I think that the special relationship is real, and it’s based on the closest of military partnerships, the closest of intelligence sharing, the tremendous people-to-people links, a trillion dollars, pounds, invested in each other’s economy. That’s the nature of the special relationship.”
Asked about Mr Trump’s flurry of insults against the UK, he said: “I think the British people are able to see some of that for what it is. They recognise that this is a President that uses rhetoric in a particular way. They recognise also that this is a President that’s seeking to pressure the Prime Minister so the Prime Minister changes his position. He’s not going to change his position. This is not our war.”
Mr Lammy said he had a “good relationship” with US Vice President JD Vance, with whom he’s struck up an unlikely friendship. The pair met at the White House on Monday after Mr Vance held high stakes talks with Iranian officials in Pakistan as the Government seeks to leverage their bond amid wider tensions.
Asked if he pressed Mr Vance to get the President to cool his rhetoric, he said: “JD Vance and I focused on the discussions in Islamabad, how we will get to that ceasefire, and we discussed the plans that the Prime Minister has for the virtual summit on Friday.”
He added: “We did not just discuss the Middle East. We also discussed Ukraine and the war in Europe and how this [Iran] is affecting the war in Europe, what we see as Russia’s continued bombardment of infrastructure and energy supplies in Ukraine, and what more we can do to bring that war to an end.”
As Russia seeks to exploit the crisis in Iran to fill its coffers, Mr Lammy revealed that he raised the need to keep pressure on Russia with Mr Vance. “JD Vance knows these issues because, of course, this is not the first time I’ve discussed it with him,” he said. “He also wants to see the war come to an end.”
Mr Lammy spoke as he visited Oman and Kuwait on Thursday to meet allies, who suffered the brunt of Iran’s retaliatory strikes. He also met military personnel, including members of the UK’s Royal Air Force Regiment who are operating the Rapid Sentry system on the ground to protect against drone threats.
It comes as Keir Starmer prepares to co-host a summit in France on Friday of world leaders on how to reopen the Strait of Hormuz when the Iran conflict finally ends.
The Prime Minister is expected to tell the summit: “The unconditional and immediate reopening of the strait is a global responsibility, and we need to act to get global energy and trade flowing freely again.
