Keir Starmer must stand up to ‘thieving Trump’, says ex-defence secretary Ben Wallace
Sir Keir Starmer has been called on by senior British military figures to be much tougher in resisting Donald Trump’s threat to seize Greenland.
Former defense secretary Sir Ben Wallace accused President Trump of attempting to “steal” Greenland’s mining assets and said the prime minister should have been less “bad-mouthed” when condemning his actions.
He was backed by former NATO deputy supreme allied commander General Sir Richard Shirreff, who said the British government was “duckling and ducking” rather than taking a firm stance on defending Greenland.
Sir Ben, who was the Conservative Party defense minister from 2019 to 2023, said it was vital for the UK to protect Greenland, which is part of Denmark, a NATO nation.
This meant standing up to President Trump, who “like Putin…thinks Europeans are weak and does not respect empty-mouthed statements.”
Sir Keir publicly backed the Danish prime minister after he demanded the US stop threatening to take over the region. On Tuesday he and other European leaders spoke out about the threats and insisted they “will not stop defending” Greenland’s territorial integrity.
But the White House later said using the US military was “always an option” for the president, after it was revealed that President Trump had discussed a number of “options” to take Greenland.
Sir Ben also questioned President Trump’s reasons for wanting to take over the Arctic island. President Trump has been making territorial claims regarding Greenland since January 2025.
Sir Ben said: “This is not about security, this is about Donald Trump wanting to steal minerals and rights in Greenland.
“This is a bit like what we saw in Venezuela, where oil is bought from them at a price set by Donald Trump and sold in the United States.
“All we do is make ground meat with a floury mouth.”
Sir Ben argued that a US attack on Greenland could signal the end of NATO.
“Attacking another member, Denmark, a loyal member who supported them (the US) on 9/11 (the US attacks on the World Trade Center) and sent troops to Afghanistan, would signal the demise of much of NATO.”
He said it was important to confront the “reality” of the deal with President Trump.
Sir Ben told the BBC that the US President, like Russian President Putin, believes in global “spheres of influence” and not “the traditional clear rule of law where might is right and justice is not”.
His words were echoed by former army chief Sir Richard, who said Europe, including Britain, needed to show “real strength to support Denmark”.
He added: “A deal without a sword is useless; there must be a sword behind it. We talk and talk… Western governments, especially this one, Britain, are ducking and knitting and just talking over and over again.”
Sir Keir has come under fire for being unwilling to directly criticize the raid on Caracas on Saturday that saw then-president Nicolas Maduro captured and taken to New York.
On Monday, amid allegations that President Trump may have broken the law, Sir Keir said only that international law should be the “anchor” for Venezuela’s future and that it was up to the US to justify its actions.
On Tuesday, Health Secretary Wes Streeting defended Sir Keir’s response to the US military intervention in Venezuela and said he chose his words “wisely”.
Mr Streeting said the Prime Minister was focused on “how to make a challenging situation better, not worse” for both Europe’s collective security and the Venezuelan people.
He said: “I appreciate that there are others who are tougher and more critical of the US.
“The Prime Minister has a different responsibility and he chooses his words carefully and wisely to influence the course of events from now on.”
