Ed Davey, the leader of the Liberal Democrats party in Britain, called on King Charles III to cancel his state visit to the United States in protest of what Mr. Davey calls President Trump’s “illegal war” against Iran.
Mr. Davey urged Prime Minister Keir Starmer to advise the king to call off the trip, which is expected to take place next month as part of celebrations to mark the 250th anniversary of American independence. A specific date has not been announced.
“At a time when Trump has launched an illegal war that is devastating the Middle East and pushing up energy bills for British families, it’s clear this visit should not go ahead,” Mr. Davey said in a statement on Monday.
“A state visit from our King would be seen as yet another huge diplomatic coup for President Trump, so it should not be given to someone who repeatedly insults and damages our country.”
Buckingham Palace said that no state visit has been confirmed and that all state visits happen on the advice of the government. But government officials have previously indicated that planning was underway for the king to travel to the United States in late spring.
A spokesman for Mr. Starmer declined to comment. Steve Reed, a Labour Party lawmaker and a minister in the prime minister’s cabinet, told the BBC, “I don’t think it is for Ed Davey to decide what the King should or should not be doing.”
The centrist Liberal Democrats are the third largest party in the British Parliament, with 72 of its 650 seats.
Mr. Davey’s demand comes at a delicate moment for Mr. Starmer, whose relationship with Mr. Trump has gone from rosy to grim in the last several weeks. The president has repeatedly belittled the prime minister for not joining the initial attacks against Iran.
On Saturday, Mr. Trump lashed out again on his social media platform after Mr. Starmer announced that his government was sending more ships to the Gulf to help defend Cyprus and other allies.
“That’s OK, Prime Minister Starmer, we don’t need them any longer,” Mr. Trump wrote. “But we will remember. We don’t need people that join Wars after we’ve already won!”
Mr. Starmer had previously made it a priority to please Mr. Trump, saying that doing so would benefit Britain in its dealing with the United States. Last year, the prime minister was the first foreign leader to negotiate a trade deal with Mr. Trump to avoid even higher tariffs.
In September, the king hosted a lavish state visit for Mr. Trump at Windsor Castle after the invitation was delivered to the president by Mr. Starmer.
But the friendly relationship between the two leaders has frayed since then. Mr. Trump has angrily criticized Britain for refusing to allow America to use a joint U.S.-U.K. military base in Diego Garcia and another base in England to launch the initial attacks on Iran.
“He should be giving us, without question or hesitation, things like bases,” Mr. Trump said in an interview with the New York Post last week.
Michael D. Shear is the chief U.K. correspondent for The New York Times, covering British politics and culture and diplomacy around the world.
The post British Lawmaker Wants King Charles to Cancel His U.S. Trip Over Iran War appeared first on New York Times.
