Starmer defends UK stance of West Asia conflict
Prime Minister Keir Starmer hit back on Wednesday after President Donald Trump’s latest attack over the UK’s decision not to join the US strikes on Iran, this time threatening to review a trade deal agreed last year.
In a phone call with ‘Sky News’ on Tuesday, the US President said it was “sad” that the so-called special relationship with Britain has been strained despite him agreeing to a “good” trade deal “which can always be changed”. This latest threat was raised in the House of Commons, with Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey questioning the feasibility of King Charles III’s upcoming State Visit to the US going ahead against the backdrop of such attacks by Trump.
“My position on the Iran war has been clear from the start. We’re not going to get dragged into this war. It is not our war,” Starmer told Parliament. “A lot of pressure has been applied to me to take a different course, and that pressure included what happened last night (Trump’s ‘Sky News’ interview). I’m not going to change my mind. I’m not going to yield. It is not in our national interest to join this war, and we will not do so,” he said. He went on to stress that the war would not impact the British monarch’s four-day visit to the US, which commences on April 27.
“The purpose of the visit is to mark the 250th anniversary of relations and the independence of the US. The monarchy is an important reminder of the long-standing bonds and enduring relationship between our two countries, which are far greater than anyone who occupies any particular office at any particular time,” said Starmer.
It came as Buckingham Palace released details of the visit by King Charles and Queen Camilla, which will commemorate the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence and cover Washington DC, New York and Virginia.
