Minister Hits Back At Trump After President Called British Aircraft Carriers ‘Toys’

A minister has lashed out at Donald Trump after the president insulted British aircraft carriers by calling them “toys”.

The president slammed the UK once again on Thursday, claiming America “doesn’t need” the UK’s help in his war against Iran – even though he keeps attacking Keir Starmer’s reluctance to join the offensive.

Trump has been furious ever since the prime minister refused to let the US use British military bases for pre-emptive attacks on the Middle East.

On Thursday, he told the press: “We had the UK say that we’ll send our aircraft carriers – which aren’t the best aircraft carriers, by the way. They’re toys compared to what we have.

“We’ll send our aircraft carrier when the war is over. I said ‘oh that’s wonderful, thank you very much’. Don’t bother, we don’t need it. And we don’t need them.”

Al Carns, a former Royal Marines officer and current veterans minister, quickly defended the UK’s two £6 billion aircraft carriers, which are the largest warships ever build for the Royal Navy.

Speaking to Times Radio, Carns initially said: “I’m going to leave President Trump to say what he needs to say.”

But he then spoke to just how effective British carriers are, adding: “Let me tell you from my perspective, I was the chief of staff of the carrier strike force and was deployed on those carriers.

“They have formidable capabilities, and I’m deeply proud of them. I’m also deeply proud of Great Britain. I think it is great.

“We have a fantastic place in the world.”

He then tacitly criticised Trump’s war in Iran – which Starmer has called unplanned and unlawful – without directly mentioning the conflict.

He said his years in the military taught him: “One, you must have a legal mandate before you put people in harm’s way.

“The second is you must have a plan. And the third, you must think to the end. If you don’t have those three, we should not be putting people’s lives in harm’s way. We’ve done it in the past and it’s cost us dearly.

“I’ve been deployed on those operations and I don’t think that’s right.”

Carns went on to defend Nato, the defence alliance Trump falsely claims has “never come” to the US’s rescue – even though it did just that after the September 11 terror attacks on New York in 2001.

The minister pointed out that the only time Nato has ever invoked Article 5 of its constitution, which obliges all member states to help defend another if it comes under attack.

Carns said: “Nato is the most effective defensive alliance we’ve ever seen and the only time we’ve enacted Article 5 was to support America after 9-11, which then resulted in almost 20 years of continuous conflict where British soldiers, sailors and airmen and women have sacrificed their lives to protect not only Western freedom, but American freedom.

“I think we should be deeply proud of that.”

Senior UK government sources have previously claimed the US has never requested any aircraft carriers – and that Downing Street has never offered to send any, either.