Donald Trump has one other tantrum at Keir Starmer over Iran conflict

Donald Trump has had yet another dig at Keir Starmer – saying the UK should be “enthusiastically” helping to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

The unpredictable 79-year-old said he was “not happy” with the UK and was “very surprised” over its response to the Middle East war. He has launched a string of attacks on the Prime Minister after he refused to allow British bases to be used for strikes on Iran last month.

The US President criticised Mr Starmer for saying he would take advice before committing to sending British warships to secure the vital shipping route. It comes hours after the PM said he would not allow the UK to be dragged into a wider war.

Trump told reporters in Washington: “The Prime Minister of UK, United Kingdom, yesterday told me, I’m meeting with my team to make a determination. I said you don’t need to meet with your team, you’re the Prime Minister, you can make your own, why do you have to meet with your team to find out whether or not you’re going to send some minesweepers to help us or to send some boats.

“I said you don’t have to meet with your team, it’s the same thing here.” Mr Trump added that oil prices would fall “very, very rapidly”.

The US President went on to claim he asked the PM to send ships to the Middle East weeks ago – but alleged Mr Starmer “really didn’t want to do it”. Asked about countries helping with the Strait of Hormuz, he said: “I was very surprised with the United Kingdom, because United Kingdom two weeks ago, I said, why don’t you send some ships over? And he really didn’t want to do it.

“I said, you don’t want to do it? We’ve been with you. You’re our oldest ally, and we spend a lot of money on, you know, Nato and all of these things to protect you.

“We’re protecting them. We’re working with them on Ukraine. Ukraine’s thousands of miles away, separated by a vast ocean. We don’t have to do that, but we did it. Well, Biden did it. I mean, I have to be honest with you, Biden got taken to the cleaners, but we worked with them in Ukraine.

“We don’t need to work with them in Ukraine, and then they tell us that we have a mine ship around and they don’t want to do it.”