Donald Trump has compared Sir Keir Starmer to Neville Chamberlain in his latest attack on the Prime Minister, who has refused to back US-Israeli airstrikes on Iran. Speaking at an Easter Monday event at the White House, the US President said: “We won’t want another Neville Chamberlain, do we agree? We don’t want Neville Chamberlain.”
The jibe invokes the former British Prime Minister known for his discredited policy of appeasing Nazi Germany before the Second World War. Trump’s remarks underline his growing frustration with Starmer’s refusal to support offensive operations against Iran, despite repeated pressure from Washington.
The comments follow a mocking impersonation of Starmer during an Easter lunch speech, in which Trump claimed the PM said he would need to “ask my team” about deploying UK aircraft carriers. British officials have denied that the US ever made such a request, and Government sources stressed that Starmer continues to prioritise UK national interests.
Starmer has not directly responded to Trump’s insults, reiterating that he will not involve the UK in offensive action “whatever the pressure and the noise”. Meanwhile, UK aircrews have undertaken defensive operations, with the Ministry of Defence confirming that RAF gunners shot down “multiple” Iranian drones overnight on Sunday.
The remarks come amid Trump’s increasingly erratic rhetoric, including a threat to target Iranian civilian infrastructure if the Strait of Hormuz is not reopened. Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson distanced the Government from Trump’s language, stating: “It is not language or an approach that this government would be taking.”
