Sir Keir Starmer has taken aim at Donald Trump as he weighed in on the US President’s plea to take over Greenland.
Speaking to GB News, the Prime Minister told Political Editor Christopher Hope that the future of the territory is for “nobody else” but them.
Mr Trump has set his sights on Greenland once again, claiming he “needs” the land as a matter of “national security”.
Advocating for the Danish territory, he said: “We do need Greenland, absolutely. We need it for defence.”
Pressed by Christopher on what he would do if Mr Trump “invades Greenland”, Sir Keir told GB News: “Well, the future of Greenland is for Greenland and the Kingdom of Denmark, and for Greenland and the future of Denmark only.
“Denmark is a very close ally of the UK, both in Europe and in Nato, and it’s very important that we’re clear about the principles applicable to it.
“Greenland and the Kingdom of Denmark must determine the future of Greenland and nobody else.”
Grilled on his inability to “condemn” Donald Trump’s actions in Venezuela, the Prime Minister said there needs to be a “peaceful transition” to democracy.
Keir Starmer has taken aim at Donald Trump as he declared the future of Greenland is for ‘nobody else’ but them
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GB NEWS / REUTERS
Sir Keir said: “Well, the position of this Government is that what we need in Venezuela is a peaceful transition to democracy. That was our position before this weekend, it remains our position.
“The President was illegitimate and caused untold misery across Venezuela.
“International law is the framework, is the anchor or the benchmark against which we judge the actions of all of the Governments.”
He added: “And it is, of course, for the US to justify the action that it has taken. It is not straightforward, it is complicated.
“And even today there are further developments, but I won’t shy away from the fact that the international law is the framework and is the benchmark.”
The US President says he ‘needs’ Greenland as a matter of national security
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REUTERSAsked by Christopher if he believes Labour critics of Venezuela and Donald Trump are “wrong”, the Prime Minister told GB News: “Well, look, people will take different positions on this, but I think the vast majority of Labour voters and supporters, in fact, the vast majority of people across the country would say the most important thing is that peaceful transition to democracy.
“It’s been years in the waiting, and now we need a period of stabilisation. But we mustn’t lose sight of the fact that the most important thing is that transition to democracy in Venezuela.”
Grilled on the Government’s decision to U-turn on the family farm tax threshold, Sir Keir declared that he “listened” to the “concerns” of union leaders about the issues surrounding the threshold.
Sir Keir explained: “The principle of applying inheritance tax to farms is obviously the right principle, but I listened to those that had concerns about where the threshold was, including the president and the NFU (National Farmers’ Union) and the ex-president of the NFU.
Sir Keir told GB News that Denmark is a ‘close ally’ to Britain
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GB NEWS
“I listened carefully to what they had to say and determined that we should adjust the threshold, not the principle, but the threshold, and that was the right thing to do.”
Asked about whether the Government plans to U-turn on taxing pubs next, Sir Keir said: “Well, in relation to business rates, we’re working with the sector, particularly in hospitality.
“Obviously there were reductions in place because of Covid, which were going to come to an end. There are then transitional provisions to help the overall rating levels is going down.”
He added: “But I do acknowledge for pubs and others that the revaluation means that they will struggle in relation to the business rates applicable to them.
“That’s why we’re working with them and also other measures – they want more freedom for licensing, they want more freedom to actually open for longer, and we’re very open to that discussion with them.”