Sir Keir Starmer says he 'will not yield' to Trump on Greenland
Sir Keir Starmer made his strongest statement yet against Donald Trump, accusing the President of criticising his Chagos Islands deal “for the express purpose of putting pressure on me” regarding Greenland.
But the Prime Minister, who will host Danish counterpart Mette Frederiksen today, said he “will not yield” in his stance over the Arctic island.
Mr Trump has criticised the UK’s agreement with Mauritius, which would see the Government pay billions of pounds and hand over the Chagos Islands to secure the Diego Garcia UK-US military base in the long term.
In the early hours of Tuesday morning, the President posted on social media that this “is an act of GREAT STUPIDITY, and is another in a very long line of National Security reasons why Greenland has to be acquired”.
Previously, Mr Trump and his administration had supported the deal, with the White House describing it as a “monumental agreement”.
The Prime Minister has sought to ameliorate the bombastic leader with kind words and deference over the last year and this has appeared to be successful, leading to a trade deal with the US.
However, Sir Keir made a significant change of tone at yesterday’s Prime Minister’s Questions.
Responding to Tory leader Kemi Badenoch, he said: “President Trump deployed words on Chagos yesterday that were different to his previous words of welcome and support when I met him in the White House.
“He deployed those words yesterday for the express purpose of putting pressure on me and Britain in relation to my values and principles on the future of Greenland.
“He wants me to yield on my position and I am not going to do so.”
Speaking about Mrs Badenoch, the Prime Minister said: “I had understood her position to be that she supported the Government’s position on the future of Greenland.
“Now she appears to support words by President Trump to undermine the Government’s position on the future of Greenland. She has chosen naked opportunism over the national interest.”
The Prime Minister reiterated his position that “the future of Greenland is for the people of Greenland and the Kingdom of Denmark alone” and that “threats of tariffs to pressurise allies are completely wrong”.
He said the Danish prime minister is coming to the UK today, adding: “I will not yield, Britain will not yield on our principles and values about the future of Greenland under threats of tariffs, and that is my clear position.”
Mr Trump has raised the possibility of hitting Britain and other European allies with 10 per cent tariffs from February 1 unless they agree to his purchase of Greenland.
He gave a speech in Davos yesterday where he spoke extensively about acquiring Greenland from Denmark, although appeared to rule out using military force.
In a rambling monologue for more than an hour, Mr Trump frequently got Greenland and Iceland confused and made a number of false claims, including that China doesn’t use any “windmills” for energy.
The European Parliament froze work on the approval of the EU’s trade deal with the US yesterday in response to Mr Trump’s escalating threats over a trade war and Greenland.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves said the UK would not be “buffeted around” by the threat of tariffs, telling the Davos gathering: “If other countries want to increase trade barriers, that is their choice but we are determined to bring trade barriers down.”
She insisted the Transatlantic special relationship” still existed, saying: “There’s no more special relationship on military, on strategic issues, than the relationship between the US and the UK.”