Foreign Secretary David Lammy has developed a close relationship with Donald Trump’s vice president-elect JD Vance, according to Labour MP Josh Simons.
He made the claim when he was asked if Lammy should apologise for derogatory comments he has made about Trump in the past.
Simons said during PMQs Live on GB News: “Donald Trump is a transactional guy. He’s focused on the interests of the United States and the people of America, not on tweets and words.
“And something people often don’t know about David Lammy is that he’s a Christian. He’s a man who’s worked with JD Vance on child poverty.
“Both are Christian men and actually that relationship-building goes back a long way, well before Donald Trump was president, and well before the last 24 hours. That will actually stand Britain in very good stead.”
Pressed on the issue, he added: “That’s up to David Lammy, whether he apologises.
“…I respect what the American people have decided. They’ve spoken. Democracy has acted, and the thing that the government has to do now is get the best deal for working people in this country.”
Conservative MP Gareth Davies said: “Whoever wins the election, we have to work with them in a very constructive way.
“And if there was ever a whiff that somebody wanted to get into power, to be Foreign Secretary or even Prime Minister, the last thing that you do is attack a future president or a former president or a current president in the way that this Foreign Secretary has.
“I think it is humiliating for the Labour Party today that they have this new president re-elected. They [will] have to rebuild the bridges that they burnt in the interests of Britain.”
Asked about the role of Nigel Farage as a possible intermediary between Labour and the Trump administration, Simons said: “I think it underestimates that there are people in the foreign service, there are people in our defence and intelligence establishment who worked with the United States and the American defence and intelligence establishment all the way through the Trump presidency.
“Britain knows how to find partnership with America, regardless of Nigel Farage’s help. David Lammy has been working on that relationship and I very much hope now that it will bear fruits in trade and in defence and security policy, when it’s badly needed.”
Davies said: “We all need that. By the way, they are our closest ally. The red light is flashing across the world.
“There are a number of conflicts that need resolving, both with the United States and the UK and NATO, and it’s very important that we work together with our closest ally.
“That’s why I think Kemi Badenoch led on this. Because it is of concern that when you have comments like this, it is going to disrupt that relationship.
“That’s why they need to re-build that trust, re-build that bridge with America, with President Trump as soon as possible.”