Donald Trump’s claim he is “very disappointed” in Sir Keir Starmer over the UK’s initial refusal to permit the use of RAF bases for striking Iran is the latest example of an increasingly fractured relationship between Downing Street and the White House.
While there have been times when both the Prime Minister and the President have praised each other, there have also been times when the “special relationship” has been tested.
Right now, the Prime Minister finds himself in a diplomatic quandary. In 2024, Sir Keir claimed that the “special relationship” with the US “sits above whoever holds the particular office”.
However, some in his own party and across the Commons have called on Sir Keir to distance himself from President Trump and look to forge closer ties with powers closer to home, including the European Union.
GB News has taken a look at the more tumultuous moments between the former reality star and human rights lawyer, the moments when Sir Keir and Mr Trump have traded barbs in this ongoing war of words.
Chagos
Donald Trump said he was “very disappointed” in Sir Keir Starmer for initially refusing to allow the use of the UK-US Diego Garcia base to target Iran.
The US President said it “took far too long” for the Prime Minister to change his mind.
Sir Keir announced late on Sunday that US forces would be allowed to operate from British bases against Iran, but only in a limited role targeting missile sites.
Mr Trump highlighted the issues around Diego Garcia, in the Chagos Islands, which are at the centre of a diplomatic row between the UK, US and Mauritius.
The US President criticised the refusal to grant permission to use the base for the initial strikes against Iran’s military and leadership.
“That’s probably never happened between our countries before,” he said.
Mr Trump added: “It sounds like he was worried about the legality.”
Referring to Sir Keir’s change of position, he said: “It is useful. It took far too much time. Far too much time.”
Sir Keir and President Trump have seemingly fallen out over the proposals | PA
Nato troops
The year started poorly between the two men after Sir Keir was highly critical of President Trump’s claim that Nato troops in Afghanistan had “stayed a little off the front lines”.
In total, 457 British personnel were killed in Afghanistan between 2001 and the coalition withdrawal two decades later.
Denmark suffered 44 fatalities – the highest proportion relative to population size after the United States.
Meanwhile, Canada’s death toll reached 159, France lost 90 soldiers, Germany 62, Italy 53 and Poland 44.
The US bore the heaviest losses in absolute terms during the 20-year war, with 2,500 men laying down their lives following 9/11.
Sir Keir called President Trump’s comments “insulting and frankly appalling”.
While he stopped short of an outright apology, President Trump hailed British troops as “the greatest of all warriors” in a post to Truth Social less than 24 hours later.
He wrote: “The GREAT and very BRAVE soldiers of the United Kingdom will always be with the United States of America!
“In Afghanistan, 457 died, many were badly injured, and they were among the greatest of all warriors.
“It’s a bond too strong to ever be broken. The UK Military, with tremendous Heart and Soul, is second to none (except for the USA!). We love you all, and always will! President DONALD J. TRUMP.”
GETTY
Board of Peace
Labour announced it would not be taking part in President Donald Trump’s signing ceremony for the Board of Peace in Gaza.
Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper said the UK will not be participating amid “concerns about President Putin being part of something which is talking about peace.”
She told BBC News: “We won’t be one of the signatories today, because this is about a legal treaty that raises much broader issues.”
President Trump first proposed the board in September 2025, when he unveiled his plan to end Israel’s war in Gaza.
Later, he said its remit would expand to tackle other conflicts globally – efforts traditionally overseen by the United Nations.
The United States is the only permanent member of the United Nations Security Council to have joined the board. The other council members are Russia, China, Britain and France.
Back in January, Sir Keir said he was “talking to allies about the terms of the board of peace.”
However, British officials said Sir Keir would not sign up to a body that charged a large membership fee for a permanent seat.
The fact that Russian President Vladimir Putin is on the team was also flagged as an issue.
President Donald Trump at the Board of Peace meeting
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REUTERSFree speech
The US has promised to unleash a “full range of tools” against Sir Keir Starmer in a bid to protect free speech in Britain.
Labour unveiled plans for a crackdown on AI-generated sexual images and could yet ban Elon Musk’s X website.
The social media platform is also under formal investigation by media watchdog Ofcom.
But now, the US State Department’s Sarah B Rogers has laid down the gauntlet to Labour in a bombshell GB News interview.
Ms Rogers said the Government’s ban threat was politically motivated and that “given the pro-censorship inclinations of the British state in recent memory, I can’t say that we’ll be shocked” if it followed through.
She told Britain’s News Channel that “America has a full range of tools that we can use” to open up internet access in “authoritarian, closed societies where the Government bans it.”
“We are facilitating uncensored internet in Iran right now,” she added, referencing efforts by Elon Musk to hook Iranians up to his Starlink satellite connection.
“With respect to a potential ban of X, Keir Starmer has said that nothing is off the table.”
‘Nothing is off the table’ to open up ‘authoritarian, closed societies’ which censor the internet, the State Department’s Sarah B Rogers told GB News | GB NEWS
Chagos…again
President Trump has launched an extraordinary attack on Labour’s Chagos Islands deal, just hours after the US Government gave its official backing.
In a Truth Social post, Mr Trump said Sir Keir Starmer is making an “extraordinary mistake” by entering a 99-year lease over the archipelago’s military base.
The UK Government has sounded positive about its talks with the US, but the President’s latest tirade suggests those sentiments have not come from him.
Mr Trump said: “I have been telling Prime Minister Keir Starmer, of the United Kingdom, that Leases are no good when it comes to Countries, and that he is making a big mistake by entering a 100 Year Lease with whoever it is that is ‘claiming’ Right, Title, and interest to Diego Garcia, strategically located in the Indian Ocean.”
He added: “Our relationship with the United Kingdom is a strong and powerful one, and it has been for many years, but Prime Minister Starmer is losing control of this important Island by claims of entities never known of before.
“In our opinion, they are fictitious in nature. Should Iran decide not to make a Deal, it may be necessary for the United States to use Diego Garcia, and the Airfield located in Fairford, in order to eradicate a potential attack by a highly unstable and dangerous Regime – an attack that would potentially be made on the United Kingdom, as well as other friendly Countries.”
Mr Trump’s extraordinary attack came as a major blow to Sir Keir, who may have thought US support for the deal was no longer up for question.