Donald Trump’s running mate suggested the UK is the “first truly Islamist country” to obtain nuclear weapons after Labour won the election.
Mr Trump selected JD Vance, a 39-year-old former venture capitalist and senator from Ohio, as his candidate for vice president just days after he was targeted in an assassination attempt on Saturday.
Mr Vance – who once described Mr Trump as an “idiot” and “America’s Hitler” – made the comments about the UK at the National Conservatism conference in Washington DC last week, which was also attended by former home secretary Suella Braverman.
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Mr Vance’s comments could cause some tension in the relationship between the new Labour government and senior figures within Mr Trump’s team in the event the former president wins the election.
In a video circulating widely on social media, Mr Vance told the conference audience: “By the way, I have to beat up on the UK, just one additional thing.
“I was talking with a friend recently, and we were talking about one of the big dangers in the world of course is nuclear proliferation, and of course the Biden administration doesn’t care about it.
“And I was talking about, you know, what is the first truly Islamist country that will get a nuclear weapon?
“And we were like, ‘maybe it is Iran, maybe Pakistan already kind of counts’, and then we sort of finally decided maybe it’s actually the UK – since Labour just took over.”
Speaking to Sky News, James Murray, exchequer secretary to the Treasury, said he did not “understand” the US senator’s comments.
“I don’t know what he means by that, to be honest. I don’t really understand those comments,” he told Kay Burley on Breakfast.
Put to him that the comments were “alarming”, Mr Murray replied: “Look, it’s for America to decide who they elect in their election.
“From my point of view, whoever is in the White House, whoever they elect in the US, we have a very strong relationship between the UK and the US, which is really important to our security and economic growth.”
He said that while “obviously we disagree on those particular comments”, the UK’s relationship with the US “is more important than any individual”.
Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner also said she did not “recognise” Mr Vance’s characterisation of the UK under Labour.
She told ITV’s Good Morning Britain: “I think he said quite a lot of fruity things in the past as well.
“Look, I don’t recognise that characterisation. I’m very proud of the election success that Labour had recently.”
It comes after Sir Keir Starmer spoke to Mr Trump on Sunday following the assassination attempt the day before.
It is understood the prime minister condemned the violence, expressed his condolences for the victims and their families, and wished Mr Trump and those injured a quick recovery.
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Mr Vance’s appearance at the right-wing National Conservativism conference is not the first flashpoint of tension that has occurred between Labour figures and Mr Trump’s team.
In 2018, David Lammy, who is now the foreign secretary, wrote in an article for Time magazine that he believed Mr Trump to be a “woman-hating, neo-Nazi-sympathising sociopath” and “profound threat to the international order”.
However, speaking to The World With Yalda Hakim on Sky News earlier this year, Mr Lammy sought to temper his past remarks about Mr Trump and highlighted the importance of the UK-US relationship.
He said at the time: “The truth is, if I have the privilege of becoming foreign secretary, it will be my job to represent the national interests of this country.
“It doesn’t matter who is in Number 10 – you work with the United States.”
Mr Trump also received the support of former UK prime minister Liz Truss this week at the Republican National Convention.
Ms Truss described the attempt on Mr Trump’s life as “absolutely appalling” and said the presidential candidate was “just incredibly lucky, frankly, not to be killed”.