US should judge UK on its actions in Gulf, not on Trump’s social posts, says defence secretary

UK military bases have been invaluable to US, says John Healey, and Britain’s efforts ‘speak for themselves’

The UK’s actions in the Gulf should be the basis for any US judgment of the country’s value rather than Donald Trump’s social media posts, Britain’s defence secretary has said.

Speaking at a conference in London, John Healey said the UK’s recent efforts “spoke for themselves”, as Keir Starmer flew home after a trip that included discussing how to keep the strait of Hormuz open with Donald Trump, as well as meeting leaders in Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain.

“Even in this current conflict, the basing permissions that we in the UK have agreed with the US have been invaluable to their military operations,” Healey said, adding: “If we focus on our actions rather than just simply the exchange of words and social media posts, then the fundamentals for me remain.”

Before the ceasefire announced by Trump late on Tuesday, which Starmer said countries in the region believed was “fragile”, the UK led a call of military planners from 35 nations on ways to secure the strait if there was peace, including the removal of Iranian mines.

Speaking to broadcasters in Doha, Starmer gave details of his call with the US president on Thursday evening. “I had a discussion with President Trump last night and set out to him the views of the region here. These Gulf states are the neighbours of Iran, and therefore, if the ceasefire is to hold – and we hope it will – it has to involve them,” the prime minister said.

“They have very strong views on the strait of Hormuz. We spent most of the time on the call talking about the practical plan that’s going to be needed to get navigation through the strait and the role that the UK is playing.”

As well as ensuring the sea route is safe, Starmer has stressed the need to avoid the potential scenario of Iran charging levies on ships passing through. Earlier this week Trump mooted the idea of a “joint venture” between the US and Iran to set tolls.

Setting out his talks with the various Gulf leaders, Starmer said they shared this view, and were concerned about the ceasefire, which is under threat from continued Israeli attacks on Lebanon, and Iran warning it could retaliate.

“Obviously, the discussion moved very quickly to the ceasefire, a sense that it’s fragile, that more work is needed, that the strait of Hormuz has to be part of the solution, a very strong sense that there can’t be tolling or restrictions on that navigation,” he said.

Trump has expressed anger at what he believes has been a lack of support for the attacks on Iran from fellow Nato members, and has again threatened the future of the alliance. Reports have emerged that Washington was planning to audit Nato members to decide if anyone should face punishment for their perceived lack of support during the war in Iran.

Starmer said he agreed it was important for European Nato members to “do more”, but emphasised that the alliance was “in America’s interests”.

“We’re very strong supporters of Nato and I’ve been making the argument for some considerable time that we need to do more,” he said. “It’s the single most effective military alliance the world has ever known.

“Nato is a defensive alliance, which for decades has kept us much safer than we would otherwise have been. So we’re strong supporters of Nato. We’ll always be strong supporters of Nato.”