British foreign secretary David Lammy has said he will be “gracious” to Donald Trump despite his previous comments disparaging the incoming US president.
As a backbench MP in 2018, Mr Lammy had described the then-president as a “tyrant” and a “woman-hating, neo-Nazi-sympathising sociopath”.
Those comments, and others, have led some to suggest Mr Lammy would be unable to maintain a good relationship with Britain’s closest ally once Mr Trump is sworn in in January.
But challenged by members of the Commons Foreign Affairs Committee on Wednesday over his previous comments, the foreign secretary said he was “not looking back” but “looking forward”.
Mr Lammy told the committee he had “enjoyed” meeting Mr Trump in New York in September, along with the prime minister Keir Starmer, saying he had been “a very gracious host” and the trio had had “good discussion” and “a laugh in places”.
He said: “I will do everything possible on behalf of the British people in relation to our national interests, and that is working with our close ally. And just as he has been gracious to me, I will be gracious to him.
“That was the way I was brought up in the great part of London called Tottenham and the great city of Peterborough – you are gracious to those who are gracious to you.”
He also hailed his relationship with the incoming vice-president, JD Vance, saying they had met and had talked “extensively” about their books and their “understanding of impoverished communities”.
Later, Mr Lammy insisted that the US would comply with Nato’s mutual defence agreement, despite doubts about Mr Trump’s commitment to the alliance.
The incoming president has previously suggested he would not defend “delinquent” Nato members who were spending less than 2 per cent of GDP on defence, while his nominee for defence secretary, Pete Hesgeth, has said the defence of Europe is “not our problem” and called for Nato to be scrapped.
But Mr Lammy told MPs he was “really confident” that the US under Mr Trump would meet its obligations under Article 5 of the Nato treaty, saying his “pushing and cajoling of Europe” on defence spending was in line with previous presidents such as Dwight Eisenhower, John F Kennedy and Barack Obama.
He said: “The rhetoric is tough and exacting under Donald Trump, and the global community can look back and can see that.
“He wants a deal. I’ve met him, he’s certainly not a loser. I’m quite sure that Nato as we understand it, the best alliance of countries the modern world has seen, will continue and go from strength to strength.” – PA