Starmer faces demands to cancel King’s state visit to the US over Trump’s ‘gangster’ threat to impose tariffs on the EU and Europe unless he gets Greenland

Keir Starmer is facing demands to cancel the King’s state visit to the US due to Donald Trump’s ‘gangster’ threats against Greenland.

The president shocked NATO allies by warning that those who oppose America’s takeover of Danish territory will face punitive tariffs starting February 1.

In a bombshell post on his social media site, Mr. Trump said taxes would start at 10 percent and potentially rise to 25 percent if they don’t deliver by June.

In addition to England, he also highlighted France, Germany and Denmark.

The intervention drew an angry response from Western leaders amid fresh fears that Mr Trump intends to tear up the military alliance that has kept world peace for the past eight decades.

MPs joined the backlash, calling for King Charles’ controversial trip to Washington in the spring to be cancelled. ‘The civilized world can no longer cope with Trump. “He’s a gangster hack,” senior Tory Simon Hoare said.

Culture Minister Lisa Nandy, who campaigned for broadcast studios on behalf of the government this morning, emphasized that support for Greenland’s sovereignty is ‘non-negotiable’.

“We believe it’s wrong, we believe it’s extremely unhelpful,” he said of Mr Trump’s tariff threat with Laura Kuenssberg on the BBC on Sunday.

However, when he touched on the subject of the state visit, he only touched on the ‘depth’ of the Transatlantic relationship.

Sir Keir, who has gone to great lengths to maintain warm ties with the president, last night voiced some of his strongest criticisms of Mr Trump.

MPs joined the backlash, calling for King Charles’ controversial trip to Washington in the spring to be cancelled.

Sir Keir says UK Government will ‘pursue’ America over tariff threat and says Mr Trump’s plan is ‘completely wrong’

Senior Tory Simon Hoare says Mr Trump is behaving like a ‘gangster hack’

Economists expressed concerns that if the US continues to impose tariffs, the UK will fall into a ‘recession watch’ again.

Senior MPs have warned that the EU-US trade deal will be frozen by retaliation and the specter of a full-scale global trade war will re-emerge.

Sir Keir, who has gone to great lengths to maintain warm ties with the president, last night voiced some of his strongest criticisms of Mr Trump.

The Prime Minister said: ‘Our position on Greenland is very clear; it is part of the Kingdom of Denmark and its future is a matter for Greenlanders and Danes.

We also made clear that the security of the Arctic is important for all of NATO and that our allies must collectively do more to counter the Russian threat from different parts of the Arctic.

‘Imposing tariffs on allies to ensure the collective security of NATO allies is completely wrong. Of course, we will follow this directly with the US administration.’

Emmanuel Macron also reacted strongly to this news and promised to consult with EU leaders. The French president said: ‘No intimidation or threats will affect us when we are faced with such situations, neither in Ukraine, nor in Greenland, nor anywhere else in the world.

‘Tariff threats are unacceptable and have no place in this context. If confirmed, Europeans will respond in a united and coordinated manner. ‘We know how to protect European sovereignty.’

Former foreign secretary Jeremy Hunt said he did not believe Mr Trump would be successful in invading Greenland.

‘Invading the sovereign territory of a NATO ally would mean the end of NATO… that alliance would disintegrate overnight,’ he told the BBC.

But Mr Hunt admitted it would be ‘a creaking bum time’ to see if Europe can hold on.

Mr Trump’s former national security adviser John Bolton said: ‘Donald Trump’s threat of extraordinary tariffs against the UK and other countries for things they say or do about Greenland is undoubtedly his most dangerous and devastating claim of his five-year presidency.

‘To say this is unprecedented is to radically underestimate how stupid and contrary to fundamental American interests this is. ‘The consequences for special relations and for the NATO alliance – indeed for the credibility and trust that the US has sought to establish for decades – are incalculable.’

The UK already pays a 10 per cent duty on some goods imported by the US after Mr Trump introduced a wave of tariffs on countries around the world on ‘Emancipation Day’ last April.

Mr Trump’s announcement is the latest change in the White House’s new foreign policy strategy, dubbed the ‘Donroe Doctrine’ after the earlier Monroe Doctrine, which aims to dominate the western hemisphere and prevent foreign control of vital assets.

At Denmark’s request, Britain sent only one officer to Greenland to join a reconnaissance group ahead of an exercise called Arctic Endurance.

Yesterday, hundreds of people held a rally in Greenland’s capital, braving near-freezing temperatures to support their own self-government.

Culture Minister Lisa Nandy, who is campaigning for broadcast studios on behalf of the government this morning, stressed that support for Greenland’s sovereignty is ‘non-negotiable’

Emily Thornberry, Labor chair of the House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee, insisted Britain would not be ‘intimidated’

Mr. Trump insisted the United States must take Greenland for national security reasons and did not rule out using military force. He claimed this was vital to the missile defense shield known as the Golden Dome.

But critics claim his interest is linked to Greenland’s untapped mineral wealth rather than defense. The island has at least 25 of the 34 raw materials considered ‘critical’ by the EU.

The meeting held last Wednesday at the White House with representatives from Denmark and Greenland, chaired by Vice President J.D. Vance, ended in a stalemate.

Yesterday, thousands of protesters took to the streets in Denmark and Greenland’s capital Nuuk, chanting “Greenland is not for sale” in anger against the threats.

Mr. Trump is known to be a big fan of the Royal Family. Sir Keir was courted by his unprecedented second state visit to the UK last year, where he was welcomed with much fanfare and ceremony.

The King is expected to visit the US in April, while the Prince of Wales is also planned to make a trip.