A former British defence secretary and Afghanistan veteran has called on Keir Starmer to summon the US ambassador to the UK and apologise for Donald Trump's comments that NATO forces were "far from the front lines".
Prince Harry has also criticised Trump's comments.
Former Conservative MP Tobias Ellwood, former chairman of the House of Commons Defence Committee, former defence secretary and Afghanistan veteran, called Trump's claim "as insulting as it is ignorant", adding that it was "reason for the prime minister to summon the US ambassador to Downing Street" and apologize“. In an interview with the BBC, Elwood spoke about his visit to Helmand province as an MP, from where he returned on a Danish cargo plane with 20 coffins, draped in Danish flags, of soldiers killed in action from a NATO member state.
Prince Harry, for his part, said that British soldiers who died fighting in Afghanistan deserve to be mourned with respect. The Duke of Sussex's words came after Keir Starmer said that Trump's comments about British troops in Afghanistan were “offensive and frankly appalling“. Harry served two tours in Afghanistan as a co-pilot in the Royal Air Force. “I served there. I made lifelong friends there. And I lost friends there. On the British side alone, 457 servicemen died. The lives of thousands were changed forever. "Mothers and fathers have buried sons and daughters. Children have been left without parents," Prince Harry said.
Britain will hold fresh talks with Brussels on joining a multi-billion-euro EU defence fund as both countries seek to deepen military and economic cooperation after the near-total breakdown of transatlantic relations with the US this week, the Financial Times reported.
British ministers will hold talks with their EU counterparts in London on February 2, aiming to make rapid progress on a range of issues ahead of a summit between the two countries, previously scheduled for May. Officials in London and Brussels have told the Financial Times that talks will be held on whether Britain will join a future round of the Security Action for Europe fund as national capitals seek to boost defence spending.
The UK's bid to join the initial €140bn Security Fund collapsed in November after Britain refused to pay billions of euros in fees, but there are hopes the rift can be mended. London says the entry fee is too high. But Britain's exclusion from the fund has sparked concern across Europe, with countries including Germany and Italy saying it would send the wrong message to Russia as it continues to wage war in Ukraine.
Donald Trump's military threats to Greenland and his dismissive attitude towards NATO have added urgency to talks about how to integrate Britain - a major player in European defence - into EU programmes, the Financial Times reported. The newspaper quoted an EU diplomat as saying: "If the last few days have made one thing clear, it is that we must keep our friends close. There must be a fair share of the financial contribution."