Trump’s Nato claims ‘insulting and frankly appalling’, says Starmer – UK politics live

Starmer says it was 'insulting and, frankly, appalling' for Trump to imply Nato allies did not fight properly in Afghanistan

Keir Starmer has condemned Donald Trump’s claim that Nato allies did no properly fight alongside the US in Afghanistion. In a pooled clip that has just been broadcast, he sounded genuinely angry.

Starmer said:

Let me start by paying tribute to 457 of our armed services who lost their lives in Afghanistan.

I will never forget their courage, their bravery and the sacrifice that they made for their country.

There are many also who were injured, some with life-changing injuries.

And so I consider President Trump’s remarks to be insulting and, frankly, appalling.

And I’m not surprised they caused such hurt to the loved ones of those who were killed or injured, and in fact across the country.

Keir Starmer speaking on Sky News Photograph: Sky News

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Here is the Starmer clip.

Starmer's comments on Trump - snap verdict

He got there in the end. Other prime ministers with a great capacity for risk, or more confidence in their ability to channel public opinion, would have been out in front of the cameras much more quickly to deliver a whacking to Donald Trump. Even Nigel Farage got his (rather feeble) criticism out by mid afternoon. But when they came, Keir Starmer’s words were powerful and impressive – far stronger than anything he has ever said about Donald Trump before, and probably one of the best TV clips he has ever delivered.

Starmer has an uncle who served in the Falklands war, on a ship that was sunk. He has spent most of his life with lawyers, not soldiers, but his outrage at Trump’s (seemingly intentional) insult to British servicemen and women who fought in Afghanistan came over as thoroughly authentic. Part of the job of being PM is to speak out important matters on behalf of the nation. This afternoon Starmer did just that.

This does not mean that Starmer is going to go the full Mark Carney, or Emmanuel Macron. His final answer in the TV clip made that clear. (See 4.36pm.) Even this week, Starmer has been committed to preserving the Atlantic alliance, not writing its obituary or establishing its replacement.

But after today he may realise that there is more to be gained by pushing back against the White House monster than he perhaps realised. Saying what you actually think; it can be a liberation.

Starmer says it is important to maintain close relationship with US

In his pooled interview, Keir Starmer was also “getting a bit exasperated” by some of the comments Donald Trump has been making. The interviewer, Jon Craig from Sky News, pointed out that Starmer has had to distance himself from or criticise several things Trump has been saying recently.

Starmer replied:

We have a very close relationship with the US. And that is important for our security, for our defence, and our intelligence. And it is very important we maintain that relationship.

But is it because of that relationship that we fought alongside the Americans, for our values, in Afghanistan.

And it was in that context that people lost their lives or suffered terrible injuries, fighting for freedom, fighting with our allies, for what we believe in.

Starmer suggests Trump should apologise for his comment, particularly to relatives of those killed or injured in Afghanistan

In his pooled interview Keir Starmer was then told about the mother of a serviceman who suffered dreadful injuries in Afghanistan who wanted Starmer to be tougher with Donald Trump, and to demand an apology. Asked if he would demand an apology, Starmer replied:

Well, I’ve made my position clear.

What I would say to [the mother] is, if I had misspoken in that way, or said those words, I would certainly apologise, and I would apologise to her.

Starmer says it was 'insulting and, frankly, appalling' for Trump to imply Nato allies did not fight properly in Afghanistan

Keir Starmer has condemned Donald Trump’s claim that Nato allies did no properly fight alongside the US in Afghanistion. In a pooled clip that has just been broadcast, he sounded genuinely angry.

Starmer said:

Let me start by paying tribute to 457 of our armed services who lost their lives in Afghanistan.

I will never forget their courage, their bravery and the sacrifice that they made for their country.

There are many also who were injured, some with life-changing injuries.

And so I consider President Trump’s remarks to be insulting and, frankly, appalling.

And I’m not surprised they caused such hurt to the loved ones of those who were killed or injured, and in fact across the country.

Connor Naismith, the Labour MP who represents Crewe and Nantwich in the north-west of England, says he does not want his party to prevent Andy Burnham from applying to be its candidate in the Gorton and Denton byelection.

Gorton and Denton deserves the best possible choice of candidates. I agree with the Prime Minister that our attention should be on delivering for the public, not speculating about future leadership contests. Any decision made to limit the choice would be wrong.

But he also does not want more leadership speculation (which would be the inevitable consequences of Burnham being a candidate), so there is some mixed messaging going on here.

Kemi Badenoch, the Conservative leader, and Ed Davey, the Lib Dem leader, have both recorded TV clips criticising Donald Trump’s comment about the record of Nato allies in Afghanistan. In hers, Badenoch said Trump was talking “absolute nonsense”.

Doug Beattie wants to see Keir Starmer on camera saying this too. (See 3.33pm.)

White House declines to retract, or apologise for, what Trump said about record of Nato allies in Afghanistan

The White House has refused to retract, or apologise, for what Donald Trump said about the contribution made by America’s allies to the fight in Afghanistan.

According to a BBC report, when Anna Kelly, the deputy press secretary at the White House, was asked to respond to what No 10 and politicians in the UK are saying about Trump’s comment being offensive and wrong, she did not address this point. Instead she just said:

President Trump is right – America’s contributions to Nato dwarf that of other countries, and his success in delivering a 5% spending pledge from Nato allies is helping Europe take greater responsibility for its own defense.

The United States is the only Nato partner who can protect Greenland, and the president is advancing Nato interests in doing so.

Starmer told he will show his 'weakness' if he does not rebuke Trump in public over slur about UK's role in Afghanistan

Doug Beattie, the former Ulster Unionist leader and former army captain who won the Military Cross for his service in Afghanistan, has said that it is not enough for Keir Starmer to just get his spokesperson to say that Donald Trump’s Nato comment was wrong. (See 11.58am.) Beattie said he wanted to hear Starmer condemn what the president said himself, in public.

In an interview with Fox News, Beattie said:

People need to understand that it was the US which invoked article 5 of the Nato charter and it was other nations that came to the call and in doing so in Afghanistan, lost thousands of their young men and women killed and injured, the UK lost 457 killed in action, but over 2,200 were wounded in action.

Of those more than 600 were seriously injured, including my good friend Andy Allen, who lost both legs and most of his eyesight on the front line fighting against a brutal regime which was the Taliban.

The president has insulted him, he has insulted me and he has insulted many other people who served in Afghanistan …

[Starmer] needs to hold the president to task and he needs to make that public.

If he doesn’t, he will show his absolute weakness and his inability to stand up for those men and women who gave so much in Afghanistan at the behest of the US.

Earlier Beattie said Trump was “unhinged”. (See 9.11am.)

Farage says Trump's comment about role played by Nato allies in Afghanistan 'wrong'

Nigel Farage, the Reform UK leader, has now commented on Donald Trump’s latest comment about the Nato contribution in Afghanistan. In a post on social media, he said:

Donald Trump is wrong. For 20 years our armed forces fought bravely alongside America’s in Afghanistan.

Farage also included a clip of what he said at Davos on Wednesday about Trump being wrong to say in his speech that afternoon that Nato never contributed anything to the US.

Home Office plans for police reform shows why power over policing should be devolved to Wales, Plaid Cymru says

Shabana Mahmood, the home secretary, is due to announce major plans to reorganise police forces in England and Wales on Monday. But, in line with recent practice when the Home Office has got big policy to unveil, the briefing has already started. The outline of the plans are already out. (See 12.07pm.)

Here are some more comments on what is planned.

Chris Philp, the shadow home secretary, said making police forces bigger won’t necessarily cut crime.

Top-down reorganisation risks undermining efforts to fight crime, inevitably leading to centralised control that will hit towns and villages across the country hardest.

The biggest force, the Met, has the lowest crime solving rates and falling police numbers. Big is not necessarily better.

The Police Federation of England and Wales accepts there is a problem with the current arrangements, but is worried reorganisation will be used to cut costs. A spokesperson said:

Policing’s current structure has entrenched a postcode lottery in what the public see but also how officers are led, supported and treated.

Fewer forces doesn’t guarantee more or better policing for communities. Skills, capabilities and equipment need significant investment if the public and officers are going to see reform deliver in the real world.

Any proposals must be driven by evidence and best practice, not lowest cost, and must strengthen rather than weaken frontline, investigative and specialist capability, neighbourhood policing and public confidence.

Liz Saville Roberts, the Plaid Cymru leader at Wales, said her party wants power over policing policy in Wales devolved to the Senedd. She said:

The proposed reorganisation of policing in Wales is being driven from Westminster, with little regard for Wales’ geography, communities, language or social needs. Decisions that will fundamentally reshape public services in Wales are once again being taken without Wales having the power to decide for itself.

If policing structures in Wales are to change, those decisions must be made in Wales, by institutions accountable to the people of Wales. A one-size-fits-all approach imposed from Westminster risks weakening local accountability and distancing policing from the communities it serves.

The Liberal Democrats are pleased with their win in the Cotswolds council byelection. (See 2.33pm.) It is in the North Cotswolds constituency where the Conservative Geoffrey Clifton-Brown has been MP in that seat, and in its predecessor seats, since 1992. At the last election Clifton-Brown had a majority of 3,357 over the Lib Dems.

A Lib Dem source said:

The writing is on the wall for Conservative MPs in marginal seats like this as the Tory vote continues to collapse. Kemi Badenoch is still chasing Reform and taking her party further to the right in a desperate to stop more defections, alienating millions of former Conservative voters in the process.

Privatisation not the problem for England’s water, says author of review

The privatisation of water in England is not the reason for its failings, Sir Jon Cunliffe, the architect of the government’s water plan has said, as he warned there was no one “simple solution” such as nationalisation. Helena Horton has the story.

There were five council byelections last night. As usual, Election Maps UK have the results.

Reform UK gained a seat from Labour in Wales.

The Lib Dems gained a seat from the Greens in the Cotswolds.

The Conservatives held two seats, in Norfolk and Cheshire.

And the SNP held a seat in Fife.

Lord Dannatt, who was head of the army between 2006 and 2009, has said that Donald Trump’s comment about Nato allies’ conduct in Afghanistan is “manifestly not true”.

In an interview, Dannatt said:

I couldn’t believe when I heard this report yesterday that the man could be, frankly, so stupid and so outrageous as to make those comments …

The only explanation I can offer is that this tumultuous week that started with his land grab of Greenland and finished up with him achieving rather less than he wanted … he decided to chuck a few hand grenades in order to divert attention from his less than successful week.

'Just wrong' - Yvette Cooper hits back at Trump

Yvette Cooper, the current foreign secretary, has posted this message on a tweet reposting Al Carns’ message to Donald Trump. (See 10.49am.)

Proud to have @AlistairCarns as our Armed Forces Minister.

British & NATO troops fought side by side with our American friends in Afghanistan. To suggest otherwise is just wrong.

Our whole country honours their courage and sacrifice and we honour and respect that of our allies.

Trump's comments 'totally unacceptable and deeply disrespectful', says former Tory foreign secretary Jeremy Hunt

Jeremy Hunt, the former Tory foreign secretary, has told Radio 4’s the World at One that Donald Trump’s comment about Nato allies in Afghanistan was “totally unacceptable, factually wrong, and deeply disrespectful to the families whose loved ones paid the ultimate price”.

Hunt said that, in terms of the proportion of troops who died, British losses in Afghanistan were even higher than US losses. “We were in one of the most dangerous regions, Helmand,” Hunt said. “And so that that is that’s what makes it even worse – it’s just plain wrong.”

Asked if he thought the government should cancel the king’s state visit to the US later this year in the light of Trump’s comment, Hunt said this was a difficult decision. But he also said that, “despite extreme provocation”, it was important for Britain to maintain good relations with Washington, not to abandon the Atlantic alliance and to “keep America locked in to the defence of Europe”.

The SNP has said that Keir Starmer will be “acting like some kind of tin-pot dictator” if he blocks Andy Burnham from being a candidate in the Gorton and Denton byelection. (See 11.05am.) In a statement, Pete Wishart, the SNP’s deputy leader at Westminster, said:

It reeks of desperation that the prime minister is having to stitch up a selection process to cling onto power - and underlines the chaos in the bitterly divided Labour party.