David Lammy has insisted he will be “gracious” to Donald Trump despite his previous comments disparaging the incoming US president.
The Foreign Secretary blasted the re-elected leader as a “tyrant” and a “woman-hating, neo-Nazi-sympathising sociopath” while a backbench MP.
When Mr Lammy was challenged by members of the Commons Foreign Affairs Committee over his previous comments, he said he was “not looking back” but “looking forward”.
Mr Lammy told the committee he had “enjoyed” meeting Mr Trump in New York in September, along with the Prime Minister, saying he had been “a very gracious host” and the trio had had “good discussion” and “a laugh in places”.
He said: “I will do everything possible on behalf of the British people in relation to our national interests, and that is working with our close ally. And just as he has been gracious to me, I will be gracious to him.
“That was the way I was brought up in the great part of London called Tottenham and the great city of Peterborough – you are gracious to those who are gracious to you.”
He also hailed his relationship with the incoming vice-president, JD Vance, saying they had met and had talked “extensively” about their books and their “understanding of impoverished communities”.
Mr Lammy’s previous comments have led to suggestions the now-Foreign Secretary would be unable to maintain a good relationship with Britain’s closest ally once Mr Trump is sworn in in January.
