In a stark warning, Lord George Robertson said that the UK’s relationship with Washington won’t return to normal – even after Donald Trump leaves office
Britain’s military reliance on the US is “no longer tenable”, a former defence secretary has warned.
In a stark warning, Lord George Robertson said that the UK’s relationship with Washington won’t return to normal – even after Donald Trump leaves office.
The former Nato chief said “long-term trends” such as an increasing focus on China and scepticism of globalisation mean the US would become “more transactional in its foreign policy”, regardless of who was in the White House.
Speaking at an event at Chatham House, he ramped up his calls for the Government to spend more on defence as the world becomes more unstable.
He said Britain must become a “more autonomous military actor”, arguing a “naïve belief” that the US would “always be there” in times of crisis had “led to the diminishment of our own capabilities”. He added: “It’s clear that our high level of military dependence on the US is no longer tenable.”
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The so-called special relationship between the US and the UK has come under serious strain after Keir Starmer stood up to Mr Trump’s demands to join his war with Iran.
The US President has repeatedly attacked Nato, calling it a “paper tiger” and threatening to pull out of the defensive alliance. He also stoked fury amongst allies with his demands to seize control of Greenland, a semi-autonomous territory of Denmark, a Nato ally.
Lord Robertson, an architect of the Government’s Strategic Defence Review, broke cover last week to publicly accuse Keir Starmer‘s Government of showing a “corrosive complacency” on defence. Today, he went further to warn Britain must wean itself off decades of overreliance on the US to defend itself.
It comes as the Lords International Relations and Defence Committee urged ministers to “banish the sentimental illusion” of a “special relationship” that would endure forever.
Peers called for a “rebalancing” of relations with Washington and the deepening of ties with other nations, particularly in Europe, as a “hedge against a less dependable ally”.
But US ambassador to London Warren Stephens insisted the UK remains his country’s “closest ally”.
He said: “The United States’ National Security Strategy makes it a top priority to ‘support our allies in preserving the freedom and security of Europe’.
“That is a commitment we fulfil every day through our work with the United Kingdom. The United States will continue working alongside our closest ally, the United Kingdom, to keep our countries and our citizens safe and prosperous.
“Our countries face a host of complex threats in the modern world and the only way to counter those threats is through preparedness, co-operation with likeminded allies, and sustained investment in our collective security.”