UK PM Starmer Calls Trump’s NATO Afghanistan Remarks 'Insulting' As Allies Push Back

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer has condemned Donald Trump’s comments suggesting NATO allies avoided frontline combat in Afghanistan, calling them “insulting” and “appalling”. The remarks have drawn criticism from British leaders, European allies, veterans’ groups, and families of fallen soldiers.

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Friday condemned as “insulting” remarks by US President Donald Trump suggesting that NATO allies avoided frontline combat in Afghanistan, as criticism of the comments mounted across Britain and Europe.

Speaking in an interview with Fox News aired on Thursday, Trump claimed that allied nations sent troops to Afghanistan but kept them away from the front lines. “They’ll say they sent some troops to Afghanistan,” he said. “And they did, they stayed a little back, a little off the front lines.”

The remarks prompted widespread anger in the UK, where 457 British service personnel died during the conflict that followed the September 11, 2001, attacks on the United States. Trump also repeated his assertion that NATO would not come to the aid of the US if required.

In a video message, Starmer began by paying tribute to British casualties. “Let me start by paying tribute to 457 of our armed services who lost their lives in Afghanistan,” he said. “There are many also who were injured, some with life-changing injuries.”

“I consider President Trump’s remarks to be insulting and frankly, appalling, and I’m not surprised they’ve caused such hurt to the loved ones of those who were killed or injured,” he added, saying that if he had spoken in such a way, he “would certainly apologise”.

Following the 9/11 attacks, the United States invoked NATO’s collective security clause for the first and only time, prompting the UK and several European allies to join the military campaign in Afghanistan. Troops from Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Denmark and other NATO nations also lost their lives during the conflict.

Poland’s Defence Minister, Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz, said he expected respect for Polish veterans “who have proven how much they serve this country and our commitments to allies”. Poland lost 43 soldiers in Afghanistan.

French Armed Forces Minister Catherine Vautrin said 90 French troops died while operating alongside NATO allies and that “many others” were wounded. “We remember their sacrifice, which commands respect,” she said.

UK Defence Secretary John Healey said on X that the British troops who died were “heroes who gave their lives in the service of our nation”. Armed Forces Minister Al Carns, who completed five tours in Afghanistan, described Trump’s comments as “utterly ridiculous”.

Opposition Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch said the remarks were “complete nonsense” and warned they could weaken the NATO alliance. Even Nigel Farage, leader of Reform UK and a long-time supporter of Trump, publicly criticised the US president.

“Donald Trump is wrong,” Farage wrote on X. “For 20 years our armed forces fought bravely alongside America’s in Afghanistan.”

Families of fallen soldiers also expressed distress. Lucy Aldridge, whose son William was killed in Afghanistan at the age of 18, told The Mirror that the remarks were “extremely upsetting”.

Mark Atkinson, Director General of veterans’ charity The Royal British Legion, said the service and sacrifice of British troops in Afghanistan “cannot be called into question”.

Prince Harry, who served two frontline tours in Afghanistan with the Army Air Corps, also responded. “I served there. I made lifelong friends there. And I lost friends there,” he said.

“Thousands of lives were changed forever. Mothers and fathers buried sons and daughters. Children were left without a parent. Families are left carrying the cost. Those sacrifices deserve to be spoken about truthfully and with respect.”

According to official UK figures, 405 of the 457 British personnel who died in Afghanistan were killed in hostile action. The United States is reported to have lost more than 2,400 soldiers during the conflict.

More than 150,000 UK armed forces personnel served in Afghanistan between September 2001 and August 2021, making Britain the second-largest contributor to the US-led mission, according to the Ministry of Defence.