Keir Starmer breaks silence after JD Vance is accused of brutally mocking UK in bizarre rant about soldiers

Keir Starmer has broken his silence following US Vice President JD Vance's recent interview comments.

Sitting down with Fox News' Sean Hannity this week, Vance explained that the heated discussions between President Donald Trump and President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, at The White House on Friday (28 February) 'really set Zelenskyy off'.

"He showed a clear unwillingness to engage in the peace process that President Trump said is the policy," he said.

"That's the real breakdown. I think Zelenskyy wasn't yet there. And frankly, still isn't there. But I think he'll get there eventually, he has to."

Seemingly taking aim at the UK, Vance was accused of discussing the UK's 'coalition of the willing' proposal, which would see troops from the UK and France acting as peacekeepers in the event of a ceasefire.

After the summit of European leaders on Sunday (2 March) Keir Starmer said a handful of countries - specifically Britain and France - were ready to form a 'coalition of the willing' to keep the peace.

"If you want real security guarantees, if you want to actually ensure that Vladimir Putin does not invade Ukraine again, the very best security guarantee is to give Americans economic upside in the future of Ukraine. That is a way better security guarantee than 20,000 troops from some random country that hasn't fought a war in 30 or 40 years," said Vance.

"The only guy in town with a strategy is the President of the United States, and everybody needs to follow his lead."

Vance has since denied that he was talking about the UK or France.

Starmer has responded following the comments (Benjamin Cremel - WPA Pool/Getty Images)

Starmer has now responded to the comments, with an official spokesperson explaining: “The Prime Minister, and I think this whole country, is full of admiration for all British troops who have served, for instance, in Iraq and Afghanistan, many of whom have lost their lives in the process, and have fought, alongside allies including the United States.

“It’s very clear that their courage and bravery has helped to ensure global security, defend our values, defend our national interests. Our focus, once again, is on how we protect our national interests and global security by progressing the discussions to secure a lasting peace for Ukraine.”

Meanwhile, on Tuesday (4 March) Vance took to X to claim that the comments were not about the UK or France.

"This is absurdly dishonest," he wrote.

"I don’t even mention the UK or France in the clip, both of whom have fought bravely alongside the US over the last 20 years, and beyond."

Nevertheless, the comments left some British MPs furious, with Tory shadow defence secretary James Cartlidge tweeting: "Britain and France came to their [the US’s] aid, deploying thousands of personnel to Afghanistan, including my own brother and numerous parliamentary colleagues, past and present. It’s deeply disrespectful to ignore such service and sacrifice."

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