Priti Patel says Tories could have helped Trump set ‘new world order’ if still in power

Shadow Foreign Secretary Priti Patel has voiced frustration that the lost power just before ’s triumphant return to the White House.

Speaking to the Daily Express in Washington, Ms Patel said the could have worked with Mr Trump, had they not been ousted last July, to set “the new world order” over the coming years.

She appeared regretful that the sister parties were not both in power simultaneously to capitalise on the “iconic moment” of Mr Trump’s second term.

She said: “An actual ally of ours has come back into the White House at a time when we could actually have an incredible partnership, an incredible relationship setting the new world order.”

Reflecting on the Conservative defeat last year, the senior frontbencher said her party could learn much from Mr Trump’s emphatic election victory.

Ms Patel warned her party that it needs to rediscover the vision and optimism that propelled back to power and base it on the hopes and aspirations of ordinary voters.

She told the Express: “When the chips are down, you need a party – and it does tend to be the – who will motivate the public, give a sense of hope.

“Give people a sense of their security – Trump did that here big time. There’s a big lesson here for us.

“If you deviate from that pathway of wanting to represent the public, being the party of hope and optimism, then guess what? You lose elections.”

The Shadow Foreign Secretary is in the US capital for the inauguration to represent the Conservative Party, which has historic links with the Republican Party.

In diplomatic comments, she demurred from claiming Republicans she met were opposed to the Labour Government in London, but revealed “there’s a degree of ‘watch this space’”.

She revealed politicians she has met in the US have a “mixed” view of Lord Mandelson’s appointment as the UK’s ambassador to Washington.

Ms Patel also spoke about Sunday’s hostage release in the Middle East, describing the scenes of Hamas jubilation in Gaza as “harrowing to watch”.

Footage of masked, gun-toting members of the terrorist group swarming the vans containing the three released hostages sparked outrage online.

Photos showed Doron Steinbrecher, one of the three, looking terrified as she emerged from the Red Cross van transporting her to freedom, as she was surrounded by balaclava-wearing gunmen.

Ms Patel described the footage as “awful to watch … harrowing to watch”.

Hamas also released footage of the three released hostages, including Briton Emily Damari, being handed captivity “gift bags” containing mementoes of their time trapped in Gaza, as well as certificates of captivity.

Ms Patel said that while she was delighted to see the three hostages released, she was “genuinely concerned” about some of the Palestinians being released by as part of the prisoner swap.

She explained: “It’s a genuine concern the type of people that are being released from the [Israeli] prisons, that we know are terrorist cells.

“We heard last week that there are some individuals who have had successive sentences of hundreds of years for what they’ve been involved in.”

A total of 33 Israeli hostages are set to be released in the coming six weeks in return for nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners in .

The Conservative frontbencher also called for “fundamental change and reform” in the Palestinian Authority, while demanding Hamas must have “no role” going forward.

Ms Patel slammed the Labour Government over its rhetoric about a ceasefire and introducing an arms embargo on while the country was mourning the death of six hostages.

She condemned the “insensitivity” of the UK Government as “quite extraordinary”, demanding to know how the arms embargo had strengthened “good constructive dialogue” with .

She reflected: “I just don’t think that’s been helpful to the situation.”