I will not yield to Trump's pressure on Greenland, says PMWatch: Money for Chagos deal should go to the military - BadenochSir Keir Starmer has said he "will not yield" to pressure from Donald Trump over the future of Greenland, after the US president attacked the UK's Chagos Islands deal. Speaking at Prime Minister's Questions, Sir Keir said the US president had criticised the Chagos deal after previously saying he supported it "for the express purpose of putting pressure on me and Britain in relation to my values and principles on the future of Greenland". On Tuesday, Trump called the UK's deal to give the Chagos Islands to Mauritius and lease back a key military base an "act of great stupidity". He has threatened to impose tariffs on European countries who oppose his demand to take control of Greenland. Sir Keir told MPs "the future of Greenland is for the people of Greenland and the Kingdom of Denmark alone" - and said he would be hosting the Danish premier Mette Frederiksen in Downing Street on Thursday."President Trump deployed words on Chagos yesterday that were different to his previous words of welcome and support when I met him in the White House," he said."He deployed those words yesterday for the express purpose of putting pressure on me and Britain in relation to my values and principles on the future of Greenland."The PM added: "He wants me to yield on my position, and I'm not going to do so."Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch said she supported the PM's position on Greenland - but agreed with Trump on the "stupidity" of the Chagos Islands deal."We didn't need President Trump to tell us that, we've been saying this for 12 months," she told Sir Keir. She urged the PM to "scrap this terrible deal and put the money into our armed forces". Later in the session, Labour MP Steve Witherden urged Sir Keir to "close ranks with our European allies and commit to retaliatory tariffs" against the US over Greenland."The thug in the White House has shown that he doesn't listen to grovelling or sycophancy," he said."He'll continue to harm British interests no matter how compliant we are and, like all bullies, he will always find the weakest link."Live: Trump addresses world leaders as Starmer says he 'will not yield' to Greenland pressureStarmer toughens stance on Trump as pressure from Labour MPs growsWhat is the UK's Chagos Islands deal and why has Trump criticised it?Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey accused Trump of "increasingly acting like a crime boss running a protection racket" and urged the PM to join French president Emmanuel Macron and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney in standing up more strongly to the US president. Trump has threatened to impose 10% tariffs from 1 February on European countries including the UK unless they agree to his purchase of Greenland - but he has ruled out the use of military force to seize the territory. The US president told an audience at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland: "We probably won't get anything unless I decide to use excessive strength and force, where we would be, frankly, unstoppable. But I won't do that.
