The UK’s ambassador to Washington has said that America’s only “special relationship” is with “probably Israel” rather than the UK, according to a report.
In remarks likely to exacerbate growing animosity from the Trump administration towards Downing Street, Sir Christian Turner also said it was “extraordinary” that the Jeffrey Epstein scandal had failed to bring down any notable figures in the US.
The comments will also bring discomfort to King Charles, who is currently visiting the White House where he was welcomed in an address by Donald Trump, who hailed the “cherished bond” between the countries.
In the weeks running up to the launch of the US-Israeli war on Iran on 28 February, Sir Christian said: “I think there is probably one country that has a special relationship with the United States — and that is probably Israel.”
The link between the two countries is nonetheless “so strong”, he said, adding according to the Financial Times: “There is a deep history and affinity between us. Particularly on defence and security, we are intertwined.”
The remarks were made to a group of British students visiting Washington in mid-February, shortly after Sir Christian replaced Peter Mandelson after the latter was dismissed over his links with Epstein.
The phrase “special relationship” is “quite nostalgic, it’s quite backwards-looking, and it has a lot of baggage about it”, Sir Christian told the students.
“The relationship will carry on, if you want, being ‘special’, but I think it’s going to have to be different,” he said, adding that Britain and Europe must “work to redefine” the relationship.
Sir Keir Starmer will hope that the King’s visit will alleviate a recent volley of attacks from the Trump administration on the UK government, which were directed at the prime minister after Britain refused to join in America’s war on Iran.
The first positive signals from the king’s visit came when, during an address while standing next to the monarch on the White House lawn, Trump said the US has “no closer friend than the British”.
“I am very certain that it will continue that way long into the future,” the president added.
In his comments, which were unusually outspoken for a senior diplomat, Sir Christian suggested Sir Keir was “on the ropes” following the appointment of Mandelson despite his links with Epstein, and that he may be removed by the the Labour Party following May’s local elections.
He stated his surprise that the Epstein scandal “really hasn’t touched anybody” in the US, despite bringing down “a senior member of the royal family [Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor], a British ambassador to Washington, [and] potentially the prime minister”.
It posed an interesting question about the “different levels of accountability in our systems” he added.
