Donald Trump has reportedly threatened Britain and other NATO members with an audit to decide whether it should face punishment for not assisting the US in its war with Iran
A Defence minister has batted away reports that the US has warned Britain it could be punished for disappointing Donald Trump during the conflict in Iran.
Luke Pollard, the Minister for Defence Readiness and Industry, said the UK Government does not “recognise” reports that the US President has threatened Britain with an audit to decide whether it should face punishment for not assisting the US in its war with Iran.
Mr Trump’s alleged plans to punish and reward NATO members are still being talked through but one option is said to include pulling American troops out of nations deemed to be less supportive, according to The Times.
The US President has repeatedly criticised the NATO alliance – a defensive alliance of 32 countries from Europe and North America – throughout the war in Iran. Last month, he lashed out at NATO for doing “absolutely nothing” to help the US in his conflict.
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Asked about the reports on Friday morning, Mr Pollard told Times Radio: “That’s not an activity that we recognise. We’ve been very clear that the war in Iran is not our war, but we have stepped up in support of defending our allies from the reckless Iranian attacks on, not only British and coalition bases, but also our allies in the Gulf.
“And indeed, the secretary general of NATO, Mark Rutte, said yesterday that he praised the work of Keir Starmer and the UK in bringing together allies in support of opening the Strait of Hormuz to allow the flow of energy and ships through that important shipping channel.”
Asked about US secretary of state Marco Rubio questioning why the US is even in NATO, Mr Pollard added: “We’re very clear that Nato is stronger with the United States in it, with the 30 odd partners that we have across the NATO alliance.
“President Trump has reaffirmed his support to NATO Article 5 commitments, but we need to continue to make the case for NATO, continue to make the case for us working together, and we are responding to the challenge that President Trump has set us in the in the Euro-Atlantic of stepping up and spending more.”
Mr Pollard added that the Government is announcing a new multimillion-pound missile contract for drone interceptors “to help shoot down Iranian drones and other threats to our forces”. He said Britain has already “pre-deployed” autonomous Royal Navy minehunters to help reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
Keir Starmer yesterday said he was “fed up” with families in the UK seeing their bills be clobbered by the actions of Mr Trump or Vladimir Putin.
He told ITV: “I’m fed up with the fact that families across the country see their bills go up and down on energy, businesses’ bills go up and down on energy, because of the actions of Putin or Trump across the world.”
The PM also called out Mr Trump over his sweary tirade against Tehran and his calls for an end to Iranian civilisation. “Let me be really clear about this – they are not words I would use, ever use, because I come at this with our British values and principles,” he said.
And in an article for the Guardian published overnight, Mr Starmer said Britain must become more resilient to the “volatile and dangerous world”, writing: “The war in Iran must now become a line in the sand, because how we emerge from this crisis will define all of us for a generation.”