Kemi Badenoch has condemned Donald Trump’s threats to quit Nato as a ‘gift’ to Russia.
In some of her sharpest criticism yet of the US President, the Tory leader said ‘squabbling’ within the military alliance could only benefit Vladimir Putin.
Mr Trump has been venting fury at countries such as Britain and France for refusing to join the America and Israel’s war on Iran.
Yesterday he declared that the failure of Nato – a collective defence organisation – to help reopen the Strait of Hormuz showed it was a ‘paper tiger’.
The President said in an interview that he was more than ‘reconsidering’ whether the US should withdraw from the pact.
However, he did not refer to the idea in a televised speech last night, despite expectations that he would have more to say.
It is far from clear Mr Trump can unilaterally pull out of Nato, with a law having been passed in 2023 dictating that the Senate would need to approve such a move.
Alarm has been growing about the consequences of the war, with Iran having effectively blocked the Strait – through which around a fifth of the world’s oil supplies normally transit – for more than a month.
The passage is almost impossible to control without having forces on Iranian territory because it is so narrow.
Fertiliser and aluminium supplies are also being crippled by the closure, with knock-on impacts on food and a bewildering variety of goods.
Keir Starmer has been desperately trying to avoid criticising Mr Trump directly, although he has made clear the UK did not join the war because there was no clear plan behind it. The PM has insisted Nato remains critical for the security of the West.
Tory leader Mrs Badenoch told BBC Breakfast on Thursday: ‘I think that we need to make sure that we do not give gifts to countries like Russia or Iran, making it seem as if there is a split in the Western alliance.
‘What President Trump’s words are, is creating that. If they see that the Western countries are squabbling, that’s a gift to them.
‘That’s a gift to Russia and Iran and other enemies. We need to show that the Western alliance is still strong.’
She added: ‘I certainly disagree with anything that looks like it’s undermining Nato.’
Nato was founded in 1949, with the signing of the Washington Treaty in the US capital, to counter the risk of an attack by the Soviet Union and has been the cornerstone of the security of the West.
Its membership has grown to 32 nations including European countries, the US and Canada.
Under Article 5 of the treaty each member nation pledges that an armed attack against one ‘shall be considered an attack against them all.’
Nato has invoked Article 5 only once, the day after America was attacked on 9/11. It led the International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan until 2014.
