By Kate Holton and Nandita Bose
LONDON/WASHINGTON, March 3 (Reuters) – President Donald Trump intensified his criticism of Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Tuesday, saying his lack of immediate support for U.S. strikes on Iran showed “this is not Winston Churchill we’re dealing with”.
Trump has lashed out at Starmer three times this week after he said neither the British military, or its air bases, were involved in the initial U.S. and Israeli strikes on Tehran that killed Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Starmer told parliament that the government had learnt from its mistakes in backing the U.S. in the 2003 Iraq war, and said any military action must have a “viable, thought-through plan”. He also said he did not believe in “regime change from the skies”.
But Starmer has since allowed the U.S. to use UK bases to launch what he called limited and defensive strikes to weaken Tehran’s capabilities, after Iran hit U.S. allies in the region with drones and missiles.
On Monday, a British base in Cyprus was hit by a drone that Cypriot officials said was likely launched by Iran-backed Lebanese group Hezbollah, prompting London to send a destroyer and more helicopters with counter-drone technology to the region.
Trump told reporters during a meeting in the Oval Office with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz that he was very disappointed with Britain.
“This is not Winston Churchill that we’re dealing with,” he said, comparing Starmer with Britain’s revered wartime leader.
Trump also criticised Starmer’s decision to cede sovereignty of the Chagos Archipelago, home to the U.S.-UK air base of Diego Garcia, saying they have “been very, very uncooperative with that stupid island”.
TRUMP SAYS HE HAS STRONGER PARTNERS IN EUROPE
Starmer has been criticised from all sides at home for his decision, with opponents on the left calling for him to condemn the military action while on the right, opposition leaders Kemi Badenoch and Nigel Farage attacked Starmer for failing to back Britain’s key security and intelligence ally.
Britain has long prided itself on its relationship with the U.S., aided by British leaders such as Churchill, Margaret Thatcher and Tony Blair cultivating strong relationships with their counterparts, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush.
Starmer, a centre-left former lawyer, surprised his critics when he too struck up a solid relationship with Trump, but that has been tested in the last year as the U.S. leader became more combative on a number of fronts.
Trump earlier told the Sun newspaper he never thought he would see Britain become a reluctant partner, instead heaping praise on France and Germany.
“This was the most solid relationship of all,” he said. “And now we have very strong relationships with other countries in Europe.”
“France has been great. They’ve all been great. The UK has been much different from others.”
Britain, France and Germany released a joint statement in response to Iranian attacks on Saturday, saying they were in close contact with the U.S., Israel and partners in the region, and were calling for a resumption of negotiations.
Starmer has defended his response, telling parliament on Monday he had to judge what was in Britain’s national interest. “That is what I have done, and I stand by it,” he said.
Polling published by YouGov on Tuesday showed people in Britain were opposed to the U.S. strikes on Iran by 49% to 28%.
(Writing by Kate Holton; additional reporting by Sarah Young and Sam Tabahriti; Editing by Aidan Lewis)
Disclaimer: This report is auto generated from the Reuters news service. ThePrint holds no responsibility for its content.