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Under unit to toed a harder enactment with respect to U.S. President Donald Trump’s actions to get Greenland, U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer said helium would not output to unit connected the Arctic island, portion besides defending the 2025 U.K.-Mauritius treaty connected the Chagos Archipelago.
“I volition not yield… Britain volition not yield… connected our principles and values connected the aboriginal of Greenland nether threats of tariffs,” Mr. Starmer told the U.K. House of Commons during the play Prime Ministers Questions (PMQs) connected Wednesday (January 21, 2026).
However, Mr. Starmer said helium would proceed to prosecute with Mr. Trump connected the contented and “simply hurtling astatine the archetypal accidental into a commercialized war” would harm moving radical and businesses crossed the U.K.
Mr. Trump has threatened a 10% (escalating to 25% successful June 2026) further tariff connected the U.K. and 7 EU countries successful bid to effect the transportation of Greenland, a semi-autonomous Danish territory, to the U.S.
Mr. Starmer was asked successful parliament whether helium would instrumentality a stronger presumption against the U.S. President, arsenic Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney and French President Emmanuel Macron had done.
Mr. Carney had urged mediate powers to enactment together successful aggregate groupings to regain sovereignty successful the look of unit from the ‘Great Powers’, during a code astatine the World Economic Forum successful Davos connected Tuesday (Janauary 20, 2026).
Mr. Trump has repeatedly spoken of his appreciation for Britain and for Mr. Starmer, but the narration has travel nether strain successful caller days, with Mr. Trump threatening tariffs connected the U.K. and different European countries. Earlier this week, Mr. Trump called the U.K.-Mauritius woody an enactment of “great stupidity” and “great weakness” connected Britain’s part, contempt giving the statement the spell up earlier successful 2025.
The woody involves the U.K. recognising the sovereignty of Mauritius (a erstwhile colony) implicit the archipelago, which contains the land of Diego Garcia, location to a U.S.-U.K. airbase. The U.K. would person power implicit Diego Garcia by leasing it for 99 years astatine an mean outgo of £101 cardinal per year.
Mr. Trump’s latest presumption connected Chagos was antithetic from his earlier presumption of support, Mr. Starmer told MPs, words Mr. Starmer said.
“He deployed those words yesterday for the explicit intent of putting unit connected maine and Britain, successful narration to my values and principles connected the aboriginal of Greenland,” helium added.
“He wants maine to output connected my position, and I’m not going to bash so,” Mr. Starmer said arsenic helium chided Leader of the Opposition Kemi Badenoch for expressing her absorption to the Chagos during a geopolitically fraught moment. (Ms. Badenoch supported Mr. Starmer’s presumption connected Greenland).
Mr. Starmer reiterated his presumption that utilizing tariffs “to pressurise allies” was “completely wrong” and that the aboriginal of Greenland was for Greenland and Denmark unsocial to decide.
