The rules-based system is “disintegrating before our eyes”, senior minister Wes Streeting has warned in reaction to Donald Trump’s actions in Venezuela and threats over Greenland.
Mr Streeting, the health secretary and a possible Labour leadership contender, defended Sir Keir Starmer‘s stance since the US carried out strikes on Venezuela and captured President Nicolas Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores on 3 January.
Following the military operation, Mr Trump has also ramped up threats to take over Greenland.
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In an interview with Sky’s US partner NBC News on Monday, Mr Trump said he is “very serious” about annexing Greenland and said the US and Europe need it “for national security”.
Sir Keir and Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper have been reluctant to criticise the US over Venezuela, while other countries are saying he broke international law – but the prime minister has been clear that Greenland is Denmark’s.
In the UK government’s strongest stance over the past few days, Mr Streeting told Mornings with Ridge and Frost: “The prime minister chooses what to say, how to say it, and when to say it very carefully.
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“And what he always has at the forefront of his mind is how does he make sure that he uses his influence and leverage in a way that first and foremost works to our national interest, whether economic interests or security interests?
“And then for the collective interest as well of our global security in the rules-based system – which we’ve seen disintegrating before our eyes.”
He said the government’s stance “is just the nature of diplomacy” and the UK has a “different relationship” with the US to those countries that have criticised the US and Mr Trump.
“The prime minister has unique leverage and influence, and he’s sought to bring that to bear consistently,” he added.
“And I would argue, effectively, to pursue our interests.”
On Monday evening, Ms Cooper said she had spoken to her US counterpart Marco Rubio and had “raised the importance of complying with international law” – but would not say the US had broken it.
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Dame Emily Thornberry, Labour chair of the influential foreign affairs committee, told Sky News she thinks the government should defend international law “publicly” as it is based on the agreement of countries around the world.
“And so if one country does something and its close allies say nothing about it, then the implication is, ‘well, that’s okay, I can carry on behaving like that’,” she said.
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Mr Streeting, who called Mr Trump “an odious, sad little man” in a 2017 social media post, admitted Mr Trump and Sir Keir are “not natural political allies, with very different styles and very different characters”.
“But the prime minister has worked through all of that with President Trump to build a relationship and try to leverage that relationship in our national interest, and I think the prime minister has done it very successfully,” he added.
On Mr Trump’s threats to take over Greenland, which, as a Danish territory, is part of NATO, Mr Streeting said: “This is not the time to destabilise NATO and to undermine our collective security.”
