'This isn't Churchill we're dealing with!' Donald Trump lashes out at Keir Starmer over Iran war as he cuts trade with Spain

The US President said Sir Keir "was no Winston Churchill" in a scathing analysis of the world leader - after the PM intially refused to allow American bombers to use UK bases, including Diego Garcia, to launch strikes on Iran.

Speaking about Labour's Chagos "surrender" deal, Mr Trump said: "The island that island that you read about, the lease, for whatever reason, he made a lease of the island, somebody came and took it away from him.

"And it's taken three, four days for us to work out where we can land, it would have been much more convenient landing there as opposed to flying many extra hours.

"So we are very surprised. This is not Winston Churchill that we're dealing with..."

For years, Mr Trump has made no secret of his admiration for the war hero - with the President decorating the Oval Office with a bust of Sir Winston, just as he did during his first presidency.

In response to the dig, Labour MP Toby Perkins hit back, telling GB News: "Well, it's not Franklin Roosevelt that we're dealing with either.

"I think the reality is that at least I made clear - he wasn't convinced about the legality of the original offensive action. And for that reason, Britain wasn't going to be getting involved and Britain wasn't going to be allowing our bases to be used."

Now, since the PM refused to give his explicit blessing to the US, the President has ramped up his spat with Sir Keir over support from Britain, previously accusing the PM of being "unhelpful", while many fear for the fate of the US-UK special relationship.

In the Commons, the Prime Minister delivered a statement to MPs the turmoil across the Middle East - and refused to explicitly support or condemn Mr Trump's military action.

"We all remember the mistakes of Iraq nd we have learned those lessons. Any UK actions must always have a lawful basis and a viable, thought-through plan," he said.

Yesterday, the President went on to express his "deep disappointment" with Sir Keir after the Prime Minister initially blocked American forces from launching strikes against Iran from the Diego Garcia military base.

The Republican leader suggested Sir Keir should have taken a stronger stance on British control of the territory - rather than surrendering the land to Mauritian sovereignty.

"He should have fought it out and owned it or make him take it, if you want to know the truth," Mr Trump told The Telegraph. "But no, we were very disappointed in Keir."

But Britain is not the only European country subjected to Mr Trump's ire, with the President vowing to cut off all trade with Spain after its Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez refused to allow the US use its army bases for the same reason.

"Spain has been terrible," the President said, explaining he had instructed his Treasury Secretary to "cut off all dealings" with the country.

"We don't want anything to do with Spain," he added.

On Monday, Spain's Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares told media: "Based on all the information I have, the bases are not being used for this military operation,."

Meanwhile, Mr Sanchez, on Saturday, condemned both the US-Israeli strikes as well as the subsequent retaliatory rockets from the Islamic Republic which were fired back across the Middle East.

The Spanish premier declared the move to be "unjustified" and "dangerous military intervention", expressing concern that the action breached international law.

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