America’s only 'special relationship' is 'probably Israel', British ambassador to US says
ITV News' US Correspondent Dan Rivers reports from Washington on the release of a series of comments from the UK's new ambassador to the US.
The UK's ambassador to the US has said the only country that has a “special relationship” with America is “probably Israel”.
The comments by Sir Christian Turner, published by the Financial Times, threaten to embarrass the King during this week’s crucial state visit to the US, amid transatlantic tensions over the Iran war.
The Foreign Office has stressed the top diplomat’s remarks made to a group of visiting students in February were “certainly not any reflection of the UK government’s position”.
A recording of his comments was obtained by the FT this week.
During a question-and-answer session, Sir Christian said he disliked the phrase “special relationship” to describe the US-UK ties and argued it was “quite nostalgic, it’s quite backwards-looking, and it has a lot of baggage about it”.
He added: “I think there is probably one country that has a special relationship with the United States - and that is probably Israel.”
His remarks were made ahead of the US and Israel launching military strikes against Iran, triggering the current Middle East conflict.
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Nevertheless, he said Britain’s links to the US were “so strong”, and added: “There is a deep history and affinity between us. Particularly on defence and security, we are intertwined.”
He went on: “The relationship will carry on, if you want, being ‘special’, but I think it’s going to have to be different.”
Sir Christian also said it was “extraordinary” that the scandal over the paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein, which has had far-reaching consequences in the UK, “hasn’t touched anybody” in the US.
In contrast, he said the controversy had “brought down” the former prince Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor and Sir Christian’s predecessor in Washington, Lord Peter Mandelson.
Sir Christian also said the future of Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer had been “quite touch and go” over his appointment of the disgraced peer, and if Labour did badly in the upcoming local elections, the party could “remove him”.
His remarks were made public ahead of the King’s speech to Congress as part of his four-day royal visit to the US with the Queen.
There are hopes the trip could help repair relations between the two countries after US President Donald Trump’s repeated criticism of the prime minister for refusing to join the offensive against Tehran, branding him weak and indecisive.
In his address on Capitol Hill, Charles will acknowledge the current strained relations, pointing out that while the UK and US have disagreed at times during their long history, both nations “have always found ways to come together”.
He is also expected to put recent difficulties into context, saying “our defence, intelligence and security ties are measured not in years but in decades”.
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