Keir Starmer addresses the media / JD Vance speaking in the Oval Office (Image: Getty)
Keir Starmer has been told to “grow a backbone” and stand up to the Trump administration, after JD Vance’s remarks about being defended by a “random country”. A member of the audience told the panel, which included Labour Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson: “I personally feel that this country is in the moment now where it has to take a stand and say ‘enough is enough’.
“I think we should be standing up to America. I think we should be calling out Vice-President Vance on his comments this week about our veterans”, the man added, to rapturous applause from the Skipton audience. He added: “The Government needs to get a backbone and stand strong for the morals that this country is built on”.
Mr Vance drew the ire of the UK military community after appearing to tell Fox News that the US having commercial interests in was a better guarantee of peace than British or French troops that were not used to fighting. He told the broadcaster: “The president knows that if you want real US security guarantees, if you want to actually ensure that does not invade again, the very best security guarantee is to give Americans economic upside in the future of .
“That is a way better security guarantee than 20,000 troops from some random country that hasn’t fought a war in 30 or 40 years.”
A Question Time audience member told Labour to ‘stand up to America’ (Image: BBC)
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Mr Vance has since denied he was talking about British or French troops, writing on X that such claims were “absurdly dishonest”.
“I don’t even mention the UK or France in the clip, both of whom have fought bravely alongside the US over the last 20 years, and beyond,” his post added.
The message finished: “There are many countries who are volunteering (privately or publicly) support who have neither the battlefield experience nor the military equipment to do anything meaningful.”