Getty PicturesWhen David Lammy is requested concerning the new authorities’s relations with the incoming US administration, he likes to speak concerning the dinner he and the prime minister had with Donald Trump in New York final September.
“We had an excellent meal,” the overseas secretary mentioned on Thursday. “We had a very long time to debate the problems. He was an especially gracious host, very affable, very heat certainly about our nice nation.”
And all through a collection of media interviews, briefings and a speech on the International Workplace, Lammy talked up UK-US relations, even daring to talk of a “particular relationship”, a phrase largely prevented by diplomats on each side of the Atlantic.
The UK and the US, he mentioned, had been “required to work very intently collectively” on international challenges.
They embrace challenges such because the wars in Europe and the Center East and what he known as “the rising issues in Sudan”. He cited the “shut cooperation” between each international locations on navy and intelligence issues.
However what was putting was how far the overseas secretary was prepared to problem Trump solely days earlier than his inauguration.
The president-elect’s refusal to rule out navy motion in opposition to Greenland was, Lammy mentioned, an instance of his “destabilising” rhetoric. He mentioned Trump was targeted on Arctic safety however such an assault by one member of Nato on one other was “merely not going to occur”.
He mentioned Trump was proper to ask Europe to do extra to defend itself however questioned his name for Nato members to spend 5% of their nationwide revenue on defence, noting the US was itself spending solely 3.38 %.
Talking on BBC Radio 4’s Immediately programme earlier within the day, Lammy had forged doubt on Trump’s marketing campaign promise of a fast ceasefire in Ukraine.
“I see no proof that Putin desires to come back to the desk to barter,” he mentioned.
“I feel the indications are, from what I’ve seen over the previous few days, a slight pushback on this sense that by some means a deal can be achieved on 21 January, I feel that is now unlikely. And we’re listening to that really the timetable’s moved down considerably in direction of Easter.”
Lammy performed down the affect of Elon Musk, the rich ally of Trump who in latest days has personally attacked British ministers on X. He mentioned the tech boss would have solely a “home portfolio” within the new administration and his function had not come up in talks between British and Trump officers.
The overseas secretary additionally emphasised the necessity to have interaction with China – on commerce, local weather, well being and synthetic intelligence – and urged the nation “to not throw in its lot” with Russia. This place is at odds with that held by Trump allies who see China already as a key member of an anti-Western axis together with Russia, Iran and North Korea.
Lammy calls his strategy to overseas coverage “progressive realism”. He mentioned this implies looking for progressive ends whereas accepting the world as it’s.
When making use of this framework to Trump, he mentioned he can be guided extra by the president-elect’s actions than his rhetoric. We will study in coming days how far the 2 stay aside.
And as for that dinner with Trump final autumn, Lammy hardly ever mentions the actual fact the meal was nearly the reason for a diplomatic upset.
He and Sir Keir Starmer had been introduced with massive plates of Guyanese hen, considerably to the dismay of the vegetarian prime minister.
Within the nationwide curiosity, the overseas secretary was obliged to eat extra hen that evening than he may need anticipated.
