Sir Keir Starmer has defended London mayor Sadiq Khan after Donald Trump branded him “horrible, vicious, disgusting,” sparking renewed political tensions.
The US president also referred to Sir Sadiq as a "disaster" and implied that he had performed a "terrible job" in an attack that rekindled their long-running conflict.
In an interview with Politico, President Trump said:
“He’s a horrible mayor. He’s an incompetent mayor, but he’s a horrible, vicious, disgusting mayor. I think he’s done a terrible job. London’s a different place. I love London. I love London. And I hate to see it happen.”
And he claimed that Sir Sadiq, the city’s first Muslim mayor, whose parents came from Pakistan, “gets elected because so many people have come in [to the UK]. They now cast their votes for him.
Twenty-four hours after No. 10 failed to support the mayor, a prime minister's spokesperson called the remarks "wrong." Downing Street would only state on Tuesday that the PM has a "strong" bond with both men.
But a day later, the PM’s press secretary told reporters:
“Those comments are wrong. The mayor of London is doing an excellent job in London, delivering free school meals in primary schools, cleaning up London’s air with the world’s largest clean air zone and starting record numbers of council houses.
The prime minister is hugely proud of the mayor of London’s record and proud to call him a colleague and a friend.”
Earlier, Lisa Nandy, the culture secretary, hit back at Mr Trump and defended the mayor. She told Sky News:
“I strongly disagree with those comments. I think Sadiq is doing a really good job ... I’m sure that if you asked the prime minister if he was sitting in this studio today, he would say what I’ve said.”
On Tuesday, Yvette Cooper, the foreign secretary, said of Mr Trump’s attack:
“When it comes to the mayor of London, you will not be surprised that I, of course, take a strongly different view. I think the mayor is doing an excellent job for all of London.”
Since 2015, when the Labour MP denounced the then-presidential candidate's proposal for a Muslim travel ban to the US, Mr. Trump has frequently targeted Sir Sadiq.
He said in September that London wants to "go to sharia law" and called Sir Sadiq one of "the worst mayors in the world."
In retaliation, the mayor of London accused the president of being
"racist, sexist, misogynistic, and Islamophobic."
When Mr. Trump attacked Sir Sadiq once more in July, calling him a "nasty person," Sir Keir intervened to protect him. He told the US president:
“He’s a friend of mine, actually.”
Will Trump's remarks affect UK US diplomatic relations?
Trump's reflections censuring Sadiq Khan are doubtful to materially affect UK- US political relations, as they represent particular rhetoric rather than policy shifts, with longstanding institutional ties in defence, intelligence and trade proving flexible to similar exchanges.
Since Trump- period spats, including analogous Khan attacks during his first term, generated media noise but didn't fail core cooperation like the Five Eyes alliance or common military operations, where collective interests stamp interpersonal pressures.
UK leaders including Starmer have responded measuredly by defending Khan without raising, conserving channels for substantial addresses on NATO, Ukraine and AUKUS that both governments prioritize over domestic political dabs.
Transatlantic relations under Trump's alternate term face bigger tests from trade tariffs and NATO spending demands, not insulated commentary on a megacity mayor, allowing diplomats to categorize the Khan feud as prejudiced posturing.