Keir Starmer should stand as much as ‘thieving Trump’, says ex-defence secretary Ben Wallace | EUROtoday

Sir Keir Starmer has been urged by senior British navy figures to be a lot harder in resisting Donald Trump’s risk to take over Greenland.

Former defence secretary Sir Ben Wallace accused President Trump of making an attempt to “thieve” Greenland’s mineral property and mentioned the prime minister should be much less “mealy-mouthed” in condemning his actions.

He was backed by former Nato deputy supreme allied commander General Sir Richard Shirreff, who mentioned the British authorities “ducks and weaves” as an alternative of taking a agency stance on defending Greenland.

Sir Ben, Conservative defence secretary from 2019 to 2023, mentioned it was important for Britain to guard Greenland, which is a part of Denmark, a Nato nation.

That meant standing as much as President Trump, who “like Putin … thinks the Europeans are weak and does not respect mealy-mouthed statements”.

Sir Keir publicly backed the Danish prime minister after she demanded that the US cease threatening to take over the territory. On Tuesday, he and different European leaders spoke out over the threats, insisting they are going to “not stop defending” Greenland’s territorial integrity.

But the White House later mentioned that utilizing the US navy is “always an option” for the president, days after it revealed President Trump has been discussing a “range of options” to accumulate Greenland.

Sir Ben additionally questioned President Trump’s motives for eager to take over the Arctic island. President Trump has been making territorial claims in relation to Greenland since January 2025.

Sir Ben mentioned: “This is not about security, it is about Donald Trump wanting to thieve, basically, minerals and rights from Greenland.

“It’s a bit like what we are seeing in Venezuela, where oil is being taken from them at a price set by Donald Trump and sold in the US.

“All we do is mince around in a mealy-mouthed fashion.”

A US assault on Greenland might sign the tip for Nato, argued Sir Ben.

“To attack another member, which Denmark is, and a loyal member – they supported them [the US] in 9/11 [the attacks on the US World Trade Center] and sent troops to Afghanistan – would very signal the demise of a large part of Nato.”

It was necessary to confront the “reality” of coping with President Trump, he mentioned.

The US President believed in international “spheres of influence” like Russia’s President Putin – not in “the traditional open rule of law where might is right, not fairness is right”, Sir Ben informed the BBC.

His remarks have been echoed by former military commander Sir Richard, who mentioned Europe – together with Britain – should present “real strength in supporting Denmark”.

He added: “A covenant without a sword is useless – there has got to be a sword behind it. We have had talk talk talk … Western governments, particularly this one, again and again Britain ducks and weaves and talks only.”

Sir Keir has come beneath hearth after being reluctant to straight criticise Saturday’s raid on Caracas that noticed then-president Nicolas Maduro captured and brought to New York.

On Monday, amid claims that President Trump might have damaged the regulation, Sir Keir would solely say that worldwide regulation should be the “anchor” for Venezuela’s future and that it was as much as the US to justify its actions.

On Tuesday, well being secretary Wes Streeting defended Sir Keir’s response to US navy motion in Venezuela, saying he’s selecting his phrases “wisely”.

Mr Streeting mentioned the PM was centered on “how to make a challenging situation better, not worse” for each Europe’s collective safety and the Venezuelan folks.

He mentioned: “I appreciate there are others who have been more strident and have been more critical of the United States.

“The prime minister has a different responsibility, and he is choosing his words carefully and wisely to try and influence how events unfold from here on.”