UK government refuses to say if US would be wrong to invade Greenland

A minister has repeatedly refused to say if it would be wrong for the US to invade Greenland after Donald Trump again threatened to take over the Danish territory.

Mike Tapp, the migration minister, dodged questions on Mornings with Ridge and Frost about whether the UK government would condemn the US taking over Greenland.

Politics latest: Rumours of Labour leadership challenges continue

Mr Trump, speaking the day after the US captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife during strikes on the country, said the US does “need Greenland” – prompting the Danish prime minister to say he needs to “stop the threats”.

But Mr Tapp would only say “allies do matter” and he would not give a “running commentary” as there are “careful diplomatic conversations behind the scenes”.

He said the US and Greenland are both NATO members and he is “really proud” NATO has “used discussion over division”.

After using those lines for three repeated questions on whether he would condemn Mr Trump’s threats, he said: “This isn’t for me to sit here and talk about hypotheticals, we could go on forever.”

Mr Tapp’s reticence is in contrast to remarks from the UK minister for Europe and North America on the same threat from Mr Trump about Greenland in April last year.

Stephen Doughty said: “The UK has a longstanding policy of respecting self-determination.

“The foreign secretary and I have been clear that Greenland is part of the Kingdom of Denmark, and the future of their constitutional arrangements is a matter for the people and government of Greenland, and the Kingdom of Denmark.”

Mr Tapp took a similar approach to his reaction to Mr Trump’s latest Greenland comments when asked if the US had broken international law by carrying out strikes on Venezuela and capturing Maduro and his wife.

Mr Trump also said the US would “run” Venezuela until a “proper transition” can take place.

Mr Tapp, a former soldier, said he had “been in war theatres myself and we do know operations are complex and we call it ‘the fog of war'”.

He said it was for the US to “lay out its legal basis” for the actions it took and added the UK government is “not displeased” Maduro is no longer in charge.

Mr Tapp said he would not be “pressured by social media and commentators” to provide a quick response on whether Mr Trump broke international law.

Read more:
UK government refuses to say if Trump broke the law
Venezuela latest: China demands US frees Maduro

Several other NATO countries were quick to question whether the US had broken international law after the military operation on Friday. They included France, Spain, Canada and Germany, as well as UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres.

Over the weekend Sir Keir Starmer and his right-hand man Darren Jones, chief secretary to the prime minister, took the same cautious stance as Mr Tapp.

They both said they were waiting for the Americans to explain their legal basis but were advocates of international law.