Donald Trump has lashed out at Britain's 'catastrophic' North Sea oil and gas curbs, telling the UK to exploit its own energy resources instead of relying on the US. Speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos, the US president condemned the UK for failing to exploit its energy resources, stoking Transatlantic tensions.
In a rambling speech, Trump also branded parts of Europe 'unrecognisable' and claimed that without America's victory in the Second World War, his audience would be speaking German 'with a bit of Japanese'. However, he conceded for the first time that he will not use military force to seize Greenland, saying: 'You can say yes and we'll be grateful or you can say no and we will remember.'
The comments came after Sir Keir Starmer launched his most direct attack on Trump yet, accusing him of turning against the Chagos deal as part of his campaign to get Greenland. At PMQs, the Prime Minister said Trump had the 'express' intention of forcing the UK to 'yield' to his grab for Danish territory. 'He wants me to yield on my position and I'm not going to do so,' Sir Keir said.
Sir Keir explicitly linked American anger over the Chagos Islands deal to the row over Greenland, telling the Commons that Trump's condemnation of the handover to Mauritius was 'different from his previous words'. He said Trump had 'the express purpose of putting pressure on me and Britain in relation to my values and principles on the future of Greenland'.
The Prime Minister stressed that the UK would not yield on its principles over Greenland under threats of tariffs, but played down the prospect of trade retaliation against the US, emphasising the importance of the Transatlantic relationship on defence, security and intelligence.
