Starmer uses Trump’s abuse to signal he’ll move UK closer to EU as President hurls fresh insults and tells Britain: ‘you don’t even have a navy’

Sir Keir Starmer signalled a fresh push to unwind Brexit today as Donald Trump ramped up his abuse of Britain.

The President said the UK ‘doesn’t even have a navy’ as he accused Sir Keir of only caring about building ‘windmills’.

He also dismissed Nato as a ‘paper tiger’ and said America leaving the military alliance was now ‘beyond reconsideration’.

But at a Downing Street press conference, the Prime Minister swiped that Iran is ‘not our war’ and insisted he was giving ‘calm leadership’ despite ‘pressure’ from the White House.

He also declared that he is mounting a new drive to cosy up to the EU with ‘closer economic cooperation and closer security cooperation’, revealing a summit would be held soon on a ‘more ambitious’ relationship as Transatlantic ties fray. 

Sir Keir refused explicitly to repeat Labour‘s pledge not to rejoin the bloc’s customs unions, although he did say the manifesto stands.

The PM – himself a strident Remainer who previously campaigned for a second referendum – has been under massive pressure from his own side to restore links with Brussels. London Mayor Sadiq Khan has called for rejoining the EU to be in the manifesto for the next general election. 

The Tories accused Sir Keir of trying to ‘blame Brexit’ instead of ‘fixing the mess he’s created’.  

Sir Keir was updating the country on the Government’s response following the latest brutal barbs from Mr Trump.

He highlighted that the energy cap is keeping domestic bills down for the next three months – while refusing to make any commitments to further support.

Business Secretary Peter Kyle toured broadcast studios earlier, insisting there is no sign of fuel shortages despite alarming rises in pump prices.

However, there are calls within the Government to do more to prepare the public for the pain to come.

Fears are mounting of shortages as Iran maintains a blockade on the Strait of Hormuz and the US president swings wildly between saying the war will end soon and threatening escalation.

Around a fifth of the world’s oil supplies usually run through the channel, meaning there are huge knock-on effects for products such as fertiliser and aluminium. 

On another tense day for the world:

• Rachel Reeves has reiterated that only poorer households would get any energy bailout, and played down the prospect of fuel duty cuts;
• The Chancellor has said she is ‘angry’ about ‘what Trump’s done in the Middle East’, saying it is causing ‘hardship’ for Brits and the UK did not want ‘any part of it’; 
• Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper is hosting an international summit tomorrow aimed at reopening the Strait of Hormuz, although Sir Keir stressed there is no prospect of UK patrols while the war is on; 
• The food industry has cautioned that inflation could head towards double digits by the end of the year;
• The boss of Ryanair has warned of jet fuel disruption from next month unless the war ends soon;
• The PM has been accused of ‘misusing the King’ by allowing his US State Visit to go ahead;
• Around 1.3million more UK households are facing a jump in their mortgage costs following the economic ‘shock’, according to the Bank of England. 

In Downing Street, Sir Keir played down concerns that the public finances were already in a dire condition before the Middle East turmoil. 

‘It is now clear that the impact of this war will affect the future of our country,’ he said.

‘So today, I want to reassure the British people that no matter how fierce this storm, we are well placed to weather it, and that we have a long-term plan to emerge from it a stronger and more secure nation.’

He added: ‘It is increasingly clear that as the world continues down this volatile path, our long-term national interest requires closer partnership with our allies in Europe and with the European Union,’ he said.

‘As the Chancellor has rightly pointed out, Brexit did deep damage to our economy, and the opportunities to strengthen our security and cut the cost of living are simply too big to ignore.’

Sir Keir continued: ‘In the coming weeks, we will announce a new summit with our EU partners, and I can tell you that at that summit, the UK will not just ratify existing commitments made at last year’s summit.

‘We want to be more ambitious. Closer economic co-operation, closer security co-operation, a partnership that recognises our shared values, our shared interest and our shared future.

‘A partnership for the dangerous world that we must navigate together, a world where this Government will be guided at all times by the interests of the British people.’

The PM suggested that measures would be focused on enhancing links to the single market.  

Asked about Mr Trump’s threat to pull out of Nato, Sir Keir said: ‘Firstly, Nato is the single most effective military alliance the world has ever seen, and it has kept us safe for many decades, and we are fully committed to Nato.

‘Secondly, that whatever the pressure on me and others, whatever the noise, I’m going to act in the British national interest in all the decisions that I make.

‘And that’s why I’ve been absolutely clear that this is not our war and we’re not going to get dragged into it.

‘But I’m equally clear that, when it comes to defence and security and our economic future, we have to have closer ties with Europe. That’s why we had the summit last year.

‘This year, as I’ve just announced, there’ll be a further summit. There, we will make good on equipment that we put in place last year, but we will also go further in relation to the alignment.’

Sir Keir said: ‘The manifesto commitments remain, but we made it clear in the manifesto that we wanted a closer relationship with Europe, so that is perfectly consistent with our manifesto.’

Challenged whether he was now choosing Europe over the US, Sir Keir replied: ‘I’m not going to choose because I think it is in our interest to have a strong relationship with the US and with Europe. But I do think that when it comes to defence and security, energy emissions, and the economy, we need a stronger relationship with Europe.

‘I actually think that will help strengthen our relationship with the US, because successive presidents have said that Europe needs to do more on their defence and security.’

In an interview with The Telegraph published shortly before the press conference, Mr Trump again took aim at the UK.

‘You don’t even have a navy. You’re too old and had aircraft carriers that didn’t work,’ he said in a dig at Britain’s warships.

Pressed if the PM should spend more on defence, Mr Trump said: ‘I’m not going to tell him what to do. He can do whatever he wants. It doesn’t matter. All Starmer wants is costly windmills that are driving your energy prices through the roof.’

Mr Trump was asked whether he could reconsider US membership of Nato.

‘Oh yes, I would say [it’s] beyond reconsideration,’ he said. 

‘I was never swayed by Nato. I always knew they were a paper tiger, and Putin knows that too, by the way.’

The President would need the approval of Congress to withdraw from the military alliance.

One minister told the Daily Mail that the Government should be issuing advice to Brits similar to that proposed by the International Energy Agency recently.

‘We should be making more effort to brace people for what they need to do. Drive at 55, work from home, don’t go out as much… the stuff the IEA was talking about,’ they said.

‘These things are coming down the track. We need to help nudge people towards the things they can do to cut down on fuel use and energy bills.’

A Whitehall source said there is a live debate within government about when to level with the public about the looming economic crisis.

‘There is a balance to be struck between not freaking people out completely and preparing them for what is coming,’ the source said. 

‘Obviously we don’t know how long this is going to last or how bad it will get, but it’s already clear that the impact is going to be serious.

‘I’m not sure we’ve got the balance right at the moment – we need to start bracing people for the fact this is going to be difficult.’

Pump prices continued to rise today, as families with a 55-litre diesel car face paying more than £100 to fill up for the first time since December 2022.

But Ms Reeves played down the prospect of a fuel duty cut this morning and insisted any bailout would go to poorer households rather than middle earners.

In an interview on BBC Breakfast, the Chancellor was challenged that a host of other countries had cut VAT and duty at the pumps and that was the quickest way to help Brits.

But Ms Reeves merely stressed she had already frozen fuel duty until September, and warned about levels of Government borrowing.

Shadow foreign secretary Priti Patel said: ‘Keir Starmer is desperate for someone or something to blame for the terrible failings he has overseen, and has his sights set on Brexit.

‘But it’s his own Government that has sent the cost of living up, leaving families £1,000 worse off this year. Labour’s tax hikes and net-zero zealotry are causing misery for hardworking people while those on welfare get a bonus courtesy of Rachel Reeves.

‘Rather than trying to reopen the old wounds of the Brexit years, Starmer should focus on fixing the mess he has created. Only the Conservatives will Get Britain Drilling, get bills down and cut taxes.’

Speaking on Times Radio this morning, Mr Kyle said: ‘I was looking immediately after the conflict started, where we interact in order to get resilience into our society, into our economy, we’ve been working with all these key sectors, identifying sectors where there may well be challenges down the track.

‘We have no (fuel) supply chain issues at this moment at all.

‘So people need to just realise that our country is well supplied when it comes to critical infrastructure and fuel.’

Mr Kyle was pushed on supply of medicines, after NHS England chief executive Sir Jim Mackey said he was ‘really worried’ about the issue.

The Cabinet minister said: ‘What the NHS boss said this week was that he was worried about live medicines, one very specific medicine type in the NHS.

‘He has raised that concern, and we will look at that concern. But he is not talking about all medicine and all parts of the NHS.’

Ryanair chief Michael O’Leary said that if the war continues for much longer there would be questions about jet fuel supplies.

‘We don’t expect any disruption until early May, but if the war continues, we do run the risk of supply disruptions in Europe in May and June, and we hope the war will finish sooner than that and the risk to supply will be eliminated,’ he told Sky News. 

Mr Trump said yesterday that the UK and other countries which did not take part in strikes against Iran should secure the Strait of Hormuz themselves.

He posted on his Truth Social site: ‘All of those countries that can’t get jet fuel because of the Strait of Hormuz, like the United Kingdom, which refused to get involved in the decapitation of Iran, I have a suggestion for you: Number 1, buy from the U.S., we have plenty, and Number 2, build up some delayed courage, go to the Strait, and just TAKE IT.

‘You’ll have to start learning how to fight for yourself, the U.S.A. won’t be there to help you anymore, just like you weren’t there for us.’

Sir Keir has faced calls to ease the cost of living from shadow chancellor Mel Stride, who said his party ‘will get Britain drilling in the North Sea, cut bills by £200, lower taxes, and deliver a stronger economy and a stronger country’.

To mark the start of April, Sir Keir said: ‘In an uncertain and volatile world, it is my Government’s duty to protect the British people at home and abroad.

‘I know the public are concerned about the conflict in Iran and what it means for them and their families.

‘I want to reassure them that they have a Government on their side, working with allies on de-escalation and bearing down on the cost of living.

‘Today, millions of people up and down the country will see energy bills go down by £117, wages go up for the lowest paid, and more support will be available for people who need it most – because of the decisions this Government has taken.

‘But we must go further to bear down on costs, and that means pushing for de-escalation in the Middle East and a re-opening of the Strait of Hormuz. That is the best way we can bring down the cost of living for families and that is my focus.’

The price most households pay for energy under regulator Ofgem’s price cap will fall by 7 per cent, or £117 a year, to £1,641 from Wednesday.

But respected energy analyst Cornwall Insight said its prediction for the watchdog’s price cap from July to September now stands at £1,929 for a typical dual fuel household – an increase of £288 or 18 per cent on April’s cap.

RAC figures updated today showed average diesel prices at UK forecourts were 184.2p per litre. That is up nearly 42p since before the war began.

The average cost of petrol is 153.8p per litre, an increase of 20p since the war began.

Mr Trump has declared a visit to the US by the King and Queen later in April will be ‘TERRIFIC!’

He revealed yesterday that the ‘historic state visit’ will take place between April 27 and 30.

State visits are undertaken on ‘the advice of His Majesty’s Government’.

The White House said Mr Trump will also deliver an address to the US public in the early hours of tomorrow morning to provide an update on the war.