Donald Trump last night told Sir Keir Starmer he does not need the Royal Navy’s aircraft carriers in a new blow to the so-called Special Relationship.
In an explosive broadside, the president warned the US will ‘remember’ the lack of support from ‘our once great ally’ and suggested the Prime Minister was attempting to join a war after it had already been won.
He posted on his Truth Social platform: ‘The United Kingdom, our once Great Ally, maybe the Greatest of them all, is finally giving serious thought to sending two aircraft carriers to the Middle East.
‘That’s OK, Prime Minister Starmer, we don’t need them any longer – But we will remember. We don’t need people that join Wars after we’ve already won!’
The UK government has not joined the US-Israeli strikes on Iran, which began last weekend, with the PM emphasising last Sunday that Britain ‘will not join offensive action now’.
But it has accepted a request from the States to use its military bases for the ‘specific and limited defensive purpose’ of destroying Iran’s missiles ‘at source’.
It comes after it was revealed on Saturday the Royal Navy is preparing one of its two aircraft carriers for potential deployment to the Middle East.
The readiness of HMS Prince of Wales is being increased – with its crew warned they should be prepared to sail in five days.
It means that – like HMS Dragon, a £1billion Type 45 destroyer – the ship could be deployed to the Middle East next week.
The Mail on Sunday understands that no decision has yet been taken but a spokesman for the Ministry of Defence said: ‘HMS Prince of Wales has always been on very high readiness and we are increasing the preparedness of the carrier, reducing the time it would take to set sail for any deployment.’
The 64,000-ton warship, which carries a crew of 1,600, has been under maintenance for three months.
With a flight deck that is 230 ft wide and 920 ft long – enough space for three football pitches – the formidable carrier can deploy with up to 36 F-35 fighter jets.
It was previously on ten days’ notice to sail.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer has faced fierce criticism for not acting fast enough to protect Cyprus from enemy drones and missiles.
RAF Akrotiri was hit by an Iranian drone attack last Sunday, prompting Sir Keir to announce that HMS Dragon, which is equipped with state-of-the-art missile defence systems, would be deployed to the region to defend the base.
But this weekend she remains at anchor in Portsmouth and probably won’t reach the conflict zone for another week.
The head of the British military, Chief of the Defence Staff Sir Richard Knighton, said yesterday he ‘completely’ rejects criticism that the UK has been ill-prepared for the conflict which has erupted in the Middle East.
He said HMS Dragon would leave ‘in the next few days, as soon as it’s got ammunition on board’ but did not elaborate on how long it would take to arrive in the Mediterranean.
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Meanwhile, an MoD spokesman added: ‘Since the strikes began, we’ve had British jets in the sky shooting down drones and have sent additional assets to the region to further reinforce our air defences, including more Typhoons and Wildcat helicopters with drone-busting missiles.’
Tory leader Kemi Badenoch said yesterday that Sir Keir is ‘too scared’ to intervene on the Iran crisis over fears he would further alienate Left-wing voters who are turning to the Green Party.
It comes as President Donald Trump yesterday branded Iran the ‘loser of the Middle East’ and predicted that it will ‘completely collapse’.
He added that Iran would be hit ‘very hard’, saying: ‘They were looking to take over and rule the Middle East.
‘It is the first time that Iran has ever lost, in thousands of years, to surrounding Middle Eastern Countries.’
Mr Trump later met with grieving families of the six American soldiers killed in the conflict.
