British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has firmly rejected pressure from United States President Donald Trump over the future of Greenland, insisting that Britain will not compromise its principles in the face of threats.
Addressing parliament on Wednesday, Starmer said his government would not be swayed by warnings of tariffs from Washington over opposition to Trump’s claims on the autonomous Danish territory.
“I will not yield. Britain will not yield on our principles and values about the future of Greenland under threats of tariffs, and that is my clear position,” the prime minister told lawmakers. He also announced that he would host Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen in London on Thursday.
Trump has recently threatened to impose tariffs on Britain and other European countries that oppose his stance on Greenland, escalating tensions between Washington and its allies.
The issue surfaced again during a heated parliamentary exchange, as opposition Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch taunted Starmer over Trump’s criticism of the UK government’s deal on the Chagos Islands.
Under the agreement, Britain will hand the Chagos archipelago — located about 2,000 kilometres northeast of Mauritius — back to its former colony, while paying to lease the strategically important US-UK military base there for 100 years. Trump condemned the deal on social media on Tuesday, describing it as an act of “great stupidity.”
Responding to the criticism, Starmer said Trump’s remarks were designed to pressure him into backing down.
“The words from President Trump were expressly intended to put pressure on me to yield on my principles,” Starmer said. “What he said about Chagos was literally in the same sentence as what he said about Greenland. That was his purpose.”
He added that Greenland’s future was a defining global issue with serious consequences.
“The future of Greenland is a binary issue that is splitting the world at the moment, with material consequences,” Starmer said. “I’ve been clear and consistent: the future of Greenland is for Greenland and the Kingdom of Denmark alone.”
The comments underline Britain’s growing willingness under Starmer to publicly resist pressure from Washington on sensitive geopolitical issues.
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