Minister downplays Trump’s threat to NATO
Good day. Keir Starmer is holding a press conference in Downing Street this morning. As Stacey Kiran The Prime Minister’s main intention will reportedly be to announce support for those most affected by rising energy prices, particularly households reliant on heating oil. The measures are expected to be worth tens of millions of pounds.
But inevitably, most of the attention is likely to focus on how Starmer responds to Donald Trump’s latest provocations.
In short: Last weekend Trump dismissed the UK’s stance, saying the US didn’t need Britain’s support in the Gulf anyway because “we don’t need people joining wars after we’ve already won them.” This weekend he called on the UK and other countries to send warships to help keep the Strait of Hormuz open. The government has indicated it will not deploy warships, but could send mine-detecting drones. These are some of today’s headlines.
The Guardian’s full story is here.
After briefly sounding solicitous, Triumph Now he’s back in threat mode. In a brief interview with the Financial Times he hinted that if countries like the UK did not deploy warships to protect oil tankers passing through the Strait of Hormuz, he could pull the plug on NATO. He said:
It is appropriate that the people who are the beneficiaries of the Strait help ensure that nothing bad happens there…
If there is no answer or if it is negative, I think it will be very bad for the future of NATO.
We’ll hear what Starmer has to say about this later, but we’ve already received a response from Pat McFaddenthe Secretary of Work and Pensions, who has been in the morning round of interviews. Speaking on Sky News, McFadden downplayed the threat, arguing that the US-UK alliance was strong enough to “survive” any problems caused by Trump’s rhetoric. When asked to comment on the quote, he said:
That’s the president over there. The quote you just gave sums it up.
It is a very transactional presidency and our job is to navigate it, to always remember that the friendship between the United States and the United Kingdom runs very deep.
It’s a good relationship. It’s durable and I think it will outlast all the personalities involved.
We will cover the press conference in detail, but today we will not just focus on Iran; There are other policies out there too. Here is the agenda for the day.
Tomorrow: Keir Starmer meets Mark Carney, the Canadian Prime Minister, in Downing Street.
10:30 a.m.: Starmer holds his press conference.
11am: Richard Tice, deputy leader of Reform UK, is holding a press conference in which he will give what the party says will be “an important update on Doge and local government reform”.
11:30 a.m.: Pat McFadden, Work and Pensions Secretary, delivers a speech announcing plans for a youth employment grant and apprenticeship incentive.
Tomorrow: Kemi Badenoch is visiting London.
12:30 p.m.: Malcolm Offord, leader of Reform UK in Scotland, takes part in a question and answer session at the Institute for Government.
1:30 p.m.: Jeremy Corbyn, parliamentary leader of His Party, presents the conclusions of his Gaza Tribunal report. As Patrick Wintour reports, he will say that the government has been complicit in the crimes committed by Israel.
2:30 p.m.: John Healey, the Defense Secretary, answers questions in the House of Commons.
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