Danish PM thanks Starmer for support over Greenland

Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen has thanked Sir Keir Starmer for his “strong support” over US President Donald Trump’s threats to annex Greenland, as the pair met in the UK.

Frederiksen said it was important to know “Europeans stand together” and “don’t get divided” during what she described as “a difficult time for us”.

Trump caused jitters across the western world when he ramped up calls for the US to take control of Greenland, a Danish territory in the Arctic.

But the US president has now abandoned talk of a trade war after meeting Nato Secretary General Mark Rutte at Davos, saying the pair had come to an agreement over a potential deal on Arctic security.

Sir Keir welcomed Trump dropping his threat to impose 10% import taxes on eight countries, including the UK.

“Now we can start hard yards and finding a way forward on security in the Arctic,” said the prime minister.

Speaking on a visit to Hertfordshire on Thursday, Sir Keir said “it is a good thing” that on Wednesday “the threat of tariffs against the United Kingdom was lifted”.

“Now we can start hard yards and finding a way forward on security in the Arctic, which may seem a long way away, pretty remote, but actually it does matter to all of us in terms of the safety and security of our country,” he said.

“And we’ve got through the last few days with a mix of British pragmatism, common sense, but also that British sense of sticking to our values and our principles.

“But now, as I say, the hard yards of actually finding a better way for security for our country, for Europe and across the globe.”

As she met Sir Keir at the British prime minister’s grace-and-favour country estate Chequers, Frederiksen praised the “British way” of doing diplomacy.

“You are very pragmatic,” Frederiksen said. “You have a cup of tea and then you think a bit about everything. You get the facts on the table, and then you find a way forward, and that’s exactly what we’re doing now.”

Echoing lyrics from a Beatles song, the Danish prime minister said: “So just to finalise, I think we’ve got to get by with a little help from our friends, also in this situation.”

Downing Street says “serious behind-the-scenes diplomacy” has resulted in President Trump withdrawing his threat of sanctions on Nato members over Greenland.

The prime minister’s official spokesperson said the UK had been in “constant communication” with the US administration and had been working closely with the Nato secretary general.

No 10 said there was now an agreement to draw up a new framework on Nato’s role in bolstering Arctic Security.

The potential deal was reached when Trump met Rutte on the fringes of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, where the US president suggested the framework could involve mineral rights.

Details are currently sparse, but Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme she was “not aware of any discussions at all” on Greenland’s vast – and largely untapped – reserves of rare earth minerals, many of which are crucial for technologies including mobile phones and electric vehicles.

Instead, she said the agreement was around an “Arctic sentry” allowing Nato countries to work together on a “shared threat” with “different Arctic countries coming together, supported by other Nato countries”.

Cooper said the climbdown was due to the UK’s “determined diplomacy” and “a very co-ordinated approach across allies”.

This was despite a volley of social media posts by Trump aimed at the UK, including one where he branded the agreement to cede sovereignty of the Chagos Islands an “act of great stupidity”, despite having previously welcomed the deal as a “monumental achievement”.

Those plans give the Chagos Islands to Mauritius while leasing back a key UK-US military base, following legal advice that otherwise the UK riosked losing the asset entirely.

The prime minister came under fire at PMQs on Wednesday for his focus on a calm response to such threats rather than ramping up rhetoric around retaliation, with Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey insisting the UK must stand up to “bullies”.

Sir Keir responded by making his most open statement of opposition to the US president yet, telling MPs that he would “not yield” in his stance over Greenland and vowed to stand up for British principles.

Trump changing his stance on the UK’s Chagos Islands deal was done with “the express purpose of putting pressure on me and Britain” over the Government’s position on Greenland, Sir Keir told the Commons.

Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch backed the PM’s stance on Greenland but criticised him for “giving away territory we own and paying £35bn for the privilege,” adding that the money should instead go towards the armed forces.

Asked about the Chagos deal, Cooper said the figure was wrong and actually equated to “0.2% of the defence budget”, adding opposition leaders were “swallowing some of the propaganda” and undermining the national interest.

She added that Trump used the Chagos deal as a way of putting pressure on the UK over Greenland in recent days, calling it shameful that the Conservatives “jumped on that bandwagon”.