Donald Trump lambasts Keir Starmer again and says UK-US relationship is ‘not what it was’

Donald Trump has criticized the relationship with Britain under Sir Keir Starmer, saying he was “very sad” to see it was “clearly not what it used to be”.

The Prime Minister on Sunday allowed the US to use UK bases to target Iran’s missile launchers and depots to help protect countries targeted by Tehran, but the US president said he was “very disappointed” by Sir Keir’s initial refusal to allow the US to use the UK-US Diego Garcia base in the Chagos Islands as part of the operation.

He added that it “took too long” for the Prime Minister to change his mind.

Hitting out at the prime minister directly in an interview with The Sun, the US president said: “It wasn’t helpful at all. I never thought I’d see this. I never thought I’d see this from the UK. We love the UK.”

Mr. Trump continued: “It’s actually a different world. It’s just a very different kind of relationship with your country that we had before.”

He added: “It’s very sad to see that the relationship is clearly not what it used to be.”

But the prime minister’s principal secretary, Darren Jones, said the remarks “do not negate the fact that we make decisions on the basis of legality and British interests”.

Asked if he acknowledged US frustration, the Cabinet minister told Sky News: “I saw the president’s remarks but that doesn’t really take away from the fact that, as I said, we make decisions on the basis of legality and British interests.

“We were pleased to offer bases at Diego Garcia and RAF Fairford because American operations from these airfields will reduce the risk to British nationals and British assets in the region and we therefore agreed to the request for these bases to be used on that basis only.

“But the Prime Minister is very clear that we were not involved in that initial attack, nor will we go to war with Iran or engage in any broader range of activities.”

Asked about Britain’s assessment that there was no legal basis for the first military action at the weekend, Mr Jones said: “We were not involved in the first wave because it did not meet the test that the prime minister set.”

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