Britain has become ‘lazy’ and reliant on the US under the ‘special relationship’ and should seek new international friends because Donald Trump is less interested in it, former top UK diplomats in Washington warned today.
A trio of ex-ambassadors told peers that the transatlantic alliance, whose moniker was coined by Winston Churchill, was of decreasing importance and would continue to lose relevance under the new administration.
They spoke to the Lords’ International Relations and Defence Committee as the West continues to try to limit the damage caused by president Trump and what appear to be his efforts to rip apart the West and cosy up to Russia.
On Monday, PM Sir Keir Starmer said the UK must strengthen its relationship with the US but will ‘never choose between either side of the Atlantic’.
But the ex-diplomats suggested forging closer ties with Europe and Commonwealth realms like Canada and Australia.
Sir David Manning, who was UK ambassador to the US between 2003 and 2007, said he did not always like the term ‘special relationship’ because it has ‘made us lazy on occasion’.
‘We can always hope the Americans will bail us out, we have this sort of alibi mentality, it means we don’t have to look elsewhere … we are going to have to look elsewhere,’ he said.
‘What worries me about what has now happened is that the basis of the special relationship, so-called, has been about trust and it is about shared values. In the future … can we expect that to continue?
Sir Peter Westmacott said questions had to be asked about whether the Trump administration was ‘interested and committed to, the defence of Europe’. And Sir David Manning added that he did not always like the term ‘special relationship’ because it has ‘ made us lazy on occasion’.
They spoke to the Lords’ International Relations and Defence Committee as the West continues to try to limit the damage caused by president Trump and what appear to be his efforts to rip apart the West and cosy up to Russia .
‘I think it is much more difficult to be confident about that, it seems to me there has been a seismic change.
‘Ukraine illustrates this very clearly, we have admitted Ukrainians and (president) Zelensky for defending the values we adhere to and which, until very recently, the Americans championed. Now it seems to me it is much less clear that is the case.
‘We seem to have a president who is willing to bully and cajole the Ukrainians into doing things which are not in their interests. That is clearly not where the UK is.’
Sir Peter Westmacott, who was in Washington between 2012 and 2016, said the ‘America First’ mentality had always been part of the US psyche in a relationship that was ‘transactional’.
But he added that questions had to be asked about whether the Trump administration was ‘interested and committed to, the defence of Europe as opposed to the US being part of a slightly different international order whereby it is the big guys, China, Russian the US, who get what they want and the smaller countries have to … suffer what they must’.
He added: ‘I don’t think we yet know the answer. I think the professional diplomatic people in the US are pretty clear about the relationship, I am not so sure at the moment about the new political leadership.’
Sir Nigel Sheinwald, who was ambassador between 2007 and 2012, added:
‘Historically this relationship, special, enduring, essential, whatever adjective we attach to it, it is of declining importance in world affairs.
The PM is said to be ready to make the trip with the Ukrainian president and Emmanuel Macron as they try to keep Donald Trump on side
The US president struck a slightly more positive tone in a speech to Congress overnight after Mr Zelensky sent him a pleading letter in the wake of the their Oval Office bust-up
‘If you think about the power which Roosevelt and Churchill between them individually could deploy, it is very very different from the joint impact of the relationship today. That is mainly because of the decline in relative power of the UK, arguably the US as well.
‘It’s been kept going and reinforced by working together in crises … in the sweep of history it is less important and less should be placed on it than was in the past.’
Sir Keir highlighted his visit to the White House to meet US president Donald Trump to strengthen the relationship between the two countries, adding in the Commons: ‘What happened in his subsequent meeting with (Ukraine) president Zelensky is something nobody in this House wants to see.
‘But I do want to be crystal clear: we must strengthen our relationship with America – for our security, for our technology, for our trade and investment. They are and always will be indispensable.
‘And we will never choose between either side of the Atlantic. In fact, if anything the past week has shown that that idea is totally unserious because while some people may enjoy the simplicity of taking a side, this week has shown with total clarity that the US is vital in securing the peace we all want to see in Ukraine.’
The PM could head for the White House with Volodymyr Zelensky in a desperate bid to save Western alliances.
The PM is said to be ready to make the trip with the Ukrainian president and Emmanuel Macron as they try to keep Donald Trump on side.
The leaders could present a potential blueprint for peace with Russia, including an initial air and sea ceasefire, UK and French troops on the ground to guarantee security, and an American backstop.
Downing Street sources stressed nothing had been finalised, but Paris confirmed the prospect is on the table.
Defence Secretary John Healey is due in the Washington later for talks with counterparts.
The US president struck a slightly more positive tone in a speech to Congress overnight after Mr Zelensky sent him a pleading letter in the wake of the their Oval Office bust-up.
Mr Trump said he ‘appreciated’ the message, adding he wants to sign a deal for US companies to extract rare earth minerals from Ukraine. He also claimed Vladimir Putin had sent ‘strong signals’ he wants peace.
But Mr Trump stopped short of making any firm commitments, after dramatically announcing that all military aid was being suspended.
That sparked panic in Europe amid fears that Kyiv could not hold out long against Russia without American arms.
The UK’s most recent former ambassador to the US has said there is no ‘standard definition’ of the special relationship and that the US is not ‘sentimental’ about it.
‘I think there is a special relationship, but what there isn’t is a standard definition of what that might be,’ Dame Karen Pierce told peers.
‘I think it is in America’s interests. They’re not sentimental about it. I think we fool ourselves if we think they are sentimental,’ she said.
Security and defence are the ‘bedrock’ of the relationship, she said.
Dame Karen was the UK’s top diplomat in Washington from 2020 until February, when she handed over to Lord Peter Mandelson.
She said: ‘We are America’s truly global ally. We are both reliable and capable, and we have what we would call global reach. And a day one, night one ally. We’re ready to go and we stand shoulder to shoulder with America in a whole range of ventures.’
