The shadow defence secretary and other MPs have reacted with fury after US Vice-President JD Vance appeared to dismiss the British and French militaries, describing a proposed Anglo-French peace deployment to Ukraine as “20,000 troops from some random country that has not fought a war in 30 or 40 years”. Vance made the comment during an interview with Fox News, prompting widespread condemnation from across the political spectrum.
James Cartlidge, the shadow defence secretary, said: “Britain and France came to their [the US’s] aid, deploying thousands of personnel to Afghanistan, including my own brother and numerous parliamentary colleagues, past and present. It’s deeply disrespectful to ignore such service and sacrifice.” Former foreign secretary James Cleverly called the remark “foolish and insulting”, while Nigel Farage, leader of Reform UK, said Vance was “wrong, wrong, wrong”.
Vance later tweeted that it was “absurdly dishonest” to argue that he had been referring to the UK or France, stating that both countries “have fought bravely alongside the US over the last 20 years”. However, he added that there are many countries volunteering support that “have neither the battlefield experience nor the military equipment to do anything meaningful”. Johnny Mercer, the former armed forces minister who served in Afghanistan, called Vance a “clown”.
Downing Street declined to directly address Vance’s initial comments but reiterated admiration for British troops who served in Iraq and Afghanistan alongside American allies. The Liberal Democrats called on UK Ambassador Peter Mandelson to seek an apology from Vance.
