Donald Trump has paid tribute to the ‘great and very brave soldiers of the United Kingdom’ following his highly inflammatory comments about Nato allies who served and died in Afghanistan.
The US president earlier suggested Nato troops had ‘stayed a little off the front lines’, comments which drew strong condemnation from Sir Keir Starmer and the wider forces community here in the UK.
In a post on Truth Social, the US president wrote: ‘The great and very brave soldiers of the United Kingdom will always be with the United States of America!
‘In Afghanistan, 457 died, many were badly injured, and they were among the greatest of all warriors. It’s a bond too strong to ever be broken.
‘The U.K. Military, with tremendous Heart and Soul, is second to none (except for the U.S.A.!). We love you all, and always will!’
Sir Keir spoke with Trump directly on Saturday, raising concerns aboit is understood.
It comes after the prime minister previously suggested Trump should apologise for his comments, which he described as ‘insulting and frankly appalling’.
Prince Harry also criticised the president, saying British soldiers who served and died in Afghanistan ‘deserve to be spoken about truthfully and with respect’.
Trump said: ‘We’ve never needed them. They’ll say they sent some troops to Afghanistan… and they did, they stayed a little back, a little off the front lines.’
The comments angered British veterans who served in Afghanistan, with some describing Trump’s remarks as ‘a kick in the teeth’.
The mum of the most severely wounded British veteran to survive the conflict said Trump’s words were ‘the ultimate insult.’
Diane Dernie’s son Ben Parkinson, from Doncaster, was horrifically injured near Musa Qala in 2006 when the Army Land Rover struck a roadside mine.
The blast left him with both legs amputated, a twisted spine and brain damage.
Mrs Dernie urged Sir Keir Starmer to stand up to Trump and ‘call him out’ for ‘his own armed forces.’
She continued: ‘Come and look at us, the life that Ben leads – 19-and-a-half years on, still fighting for his care, still fighting for him to have a decent life, recovering from a recent operation.
‘To hear this man say “oh, well, you just fannied about behind the front lines”… It’s the ultimate insult.’
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