Britain will be an “enduring friend and ally” of Donald Trump’s America, one of Sir Keir Starmer’s closest allies said as he brushed aside moral questions about the president elect.
After Trump’s decisive election win against Kamala Harris, Sir Keir Starmer spoke to him on Wednesday night to congratulate him on his “historic victory”.
As the UK government was scrambling to build ties with the Trump team, Cabinet Office minister Pat McFadden stressed he was more focused on how the UK government will work with the new White House administration that moral questions about his conduct.
He also argued that Trump would forgive withering criticism of him by a series of Labour politicians including now Foreign Secretary David Lammy who tweeted in 2018 that the US property tycoon was a “woman-hating Neo-Nazi sympathising sociopath”.
Mr McFadden highlighted that JD Vance had compared Trump to Hitler and was now set to be his vice president and that billionaire Elon Musk, now a major Trump supporter, had previously suggested he should “sail into the sunset”.
Asked about how Trump may respond to the comments by now Labour Cabinet ministers, Mr McFadden told Sky News: “He can look past these things.
“I don’t think any of these things will interfere in what is such an important alliance for the world based on defence, security, shared values, shared history...
“President elect Trump is a fan of the United Kingdom, his mother came from Scotland.”
Asked later on LBC Radio, if he thought Trump has “KKK (Ku Klux Klan) sympathies or Nazi sympathies”, Mr McFadden responded: “I think the relationship between Britain and America is really important.”
With many Britons dismayed by the Trump victory, and Sadiq Khan warning of “anxiety” among many Londoners about the US election outcome, the Cabinet minister said: “I want your viewers to be absolutely clear where the new British Labour government stands and that is as a friend and ally of America and that will be enduring in the next few years with the new president.”
He emphasised that the electoral cycles in the US and UK meant that there were now going to be new governments in place for the next four years in both countries.
“It’s really important that with new president now elected, with the future now clear for the next few years in both the United States and the United Kingdom, that these two governments work together well and I’m very confident that we will,” he told Times Radio.
Pressed if this meant “putting morals to one side,” he added: “I’m more interested in the alliance between the two countries.
“I’m not here to give a running commentary on the kind of issues that you are raising.
“I’m here because it’s really important that our two countries work together.”
He later dodged questions on LBC Radio about whether Trump, who has faced a series of court cases, had “Nazi” or “KKK” sympathies.
With Trump threatening to impose hefty tariffs on imports, and the UK’s growth forecasts already being downgraded by some institutions, Mr McFadden argued that people should wait to see what the new US president does rather than just take “fiery” election talk as what is set to happen.
Sir Keir spoke on Wednesday night to Trump, who will be the first US president who is also a convicted criminal, and appears set to have great power with the Republicans also having control over the House of Representatives, Senate, and a Republican-leaning majority in the Supreme Court.
A Downing Street spokeswoman said: “The Prime Minister spoke to president-elect Donald Trump this evening to congratulate him on his historic victory.
“The Prime Minister offered his hearty congratulations and said he looked forward to working closely with president-elect Trump across all areas of the special relationship.
“From defence and security to growth and prosperity, the relationship between the UK and US was incredibly strong and would continue to thrive for many years to come, the leaders agreed.
“The leaders fondly recalled their meeting in September, and president-elect Trump’s close connections and affinity to the United Kingdom and looked forward to working with one another.”
They also discussed the Middle East, No10 added.
Shadow chancellor Mel Stride has criticised comments made by government figures regarding Trump and said, as a result, the Labour government are in a "difficult position already" with his team.
