Military reliance on Trump 'no longer tenable', says former Defence Secretary
Britain’s military reliance on the US is “no longer tenable”, a former defence secretary has said as peers urge the Government to abandon “sentimentality” about the “special relationship”.
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Lord George Robertson, defence secretary under Tony Blair and a former secretary-general of Nato, said the UK should not expect relations with Washington to return to their previous state after Donald Trump leaves office.
Mr Trump’s term has already seen UK-US relations fall to a low ebb over the Iran war and Nato’s opposition to his demand to annexe Greenland.
Speaking at Chatham House, Lord Robertson said “long-term trends” such as an increasing focus on China and scepticism of globalisation mean the US would become “more transactional in its foreign policy”, regardless of who was in the White House.
Lord Robertson said Britain must become a “more autonomous military actor”, arguing a “naive belief” that the US would “always be there” in times of crisis had “led to the diminishment of our own capabilities”.
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He said: “It’s clear that our high level of military dependence on the US is no longer tenable.”
His comments come a week after he criticised a lack of urgency in increasing defence spending, accusing senior politicians of “corrosive complacency” on the issue.
It also follows the publication of a report by a House of Lords committee, chaired by Lord Robertson, examining the state of the UK’s relationship with the US.
In the report, the Lords International Relations and Defence Committee urged ministers to “banish the sentimental illusion” of a “special relationship” that would endure forever.
Peers called for a “rebalancing” of relations with Washington and the deepening of ties with other nations, particularly in Europe, as a “hedge against a less dependable ally”.
Wednesday’s report is not the first time a parliamentary committee has called for a re-evaluation of the UK-US relationship this year.
Last month, the Joint Committee on the National Security Strategy said the Government should “move away” from its reliance on the US for defence and security given “demonstrable areas of tension” between London and Washington.
Responding to Lord Robertson, US ambassador to London Warren Stephens insisted the UK remains his country’s “closest ally”.
He said: “The United States’ National Security Strategy makes it a top priority to ‘support our allies in preserving the freedom and security of Europe’.
“That is a commitment we fulfil every day through our work with the United Kingdom. The United States will continue working alongside our closest ally, the United Kingdom, to keep our countries and our citizens safe and prosperous.
“Our countries face a host of complex threats in the modern world and the only way to counter those threats is through preparedness, co-operation with likeminded allies, and sustained investment in our collective security.”