US a ‘reliable ally’, minister says, amid Trump’s Greenland threats

The US is a “reliable ally” to Britain, a senior Government minister has said, amid an ongoing stand-off between Europe and Donald Trump over his threats to take over Greenland.

Pat McFadden made the claim after Sir Keir Starmer “set out his position on Greenland” in a phone call with the US president on Wednesday.

US officials have suggested they could use “military means” to take over the semi-autonomous Danish territory, which Mr Trump claims is vital for national security.

Downing Street did not provide further details of Sir Keir’s comments during the call.

Work and Pensions Secretary Mr McFadden was asked by Sky News if Mr Trump was a reliable ally to the UK, after he kicked off 2026 with a renewed interest in taking over Greenland, and his administration’s capture of Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro.

Mr McFadden, known to be very close to the PM, replied: “The United States is a reliable ally. We believe that to be the case, we see that every day.

“But we also know the world is changing and we’ve got to step up, and Europe’s got to step up, and, actually, President Trump may have his own style, he’s not the first US president to say that.

“I think the thing that we’ve really got to understand about the world is that hard and soft power have to go together.”

The Prime Minister has repeatedly said Greenland’s future must be a matter for it and Denmark alone, including in the Commons earlier on Wednesday.

The row over Greenland has cast a shadow over relations between the US and Europe, with Denmark’s prime minister warning that a US takeover would spell the end of the Nato alliance.

US secretary of state Marco Rubio had earlier said Mr Trump was examining how to “acquire Greenland”, suggesting the US could offer to buy the territory but adding it “retains the option” to use force.

But writing in the Spectator, Lord Peter Mandelson, who was sacked as ambassador to the US last year over his connections with the paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein, accused European nations of engaging in “histrionics about Greenland” because of their “growing geopolitical impotence”.

Saying Mr Trump was not going to “invade” Greenland, he dismissed concerns about sovereignty and Nato’s future as “performative”, and called for a “considerably beefed-up role” for the US in the territory to counteract threats from Russia and China.

Sir Keir’s call with Mr Trump came as Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy prepares to meet US vice-president JD Vance on Thursday.

The meeting, at which Greenland is likely to feature, forms part of Mr Lammy’s visit to the US to mark the 250th anniversary of America’s declaration of independence from Britain.

The two men are long-standing friends, and Mr Lammy hosted Mr Vance and his family last year at Chevening, his grace-and-favour house in Kent.

In Wednesday’s call Sir Keir and Mr Trump also discussed the seizure of oil tanker Marinera earlier in the day, continuing negotiations on the future of Ukraine, and US military action in Venezuela.

It is the first time the two men have spoken since US special forces seized Maduro and took him to New York on Saturday.