David Lammy has downplayed calling Donald Trump a “neo-nazi” and insisted he can find common ground with the new president-elect.
The foreign secretary said the remarks he made in 2018 were “old news” and at the time most politicians “had some pretty ripe things to say” about the then leader of the US.
Mr Lammy was speaking to the BBC’s newscast podcast a day after Mr Trump won the 2024 election with a monumental political comeback.
He revealed he recently had a meal with the incoming president and “he was a very gracious host”.
Mr Lammy said: “He did offer me a second portion of chicken. He was very generous, very gracious, very keen to make sure that we felt relaxed and comfortable in his surroundings.
“He was funny. He was warm about the UK, very warm about the Royal Family. I’ve got to tell you, he loves Scotland.”
The cabinet minister added that Mr Trump “did not even vaguely” bring up his past comments.
This includes Mr Lammy saying: “Trump is not only a woman-hating, neo-Nazi-sympathising sociopath. He is also a profound threat to the international order that has been the foundation of Western progress for so long.”
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Mr Lammy was a backbench MP in the opposition at the time, but now that he is in government with the job of foreign secretary he will have to work closely with Mr Trump – posing awkward questions for him.
Pressed on the consequences of his remarks, Mr Lammy said: “You don’t get to be a senior politician in our country unless you can find common ground.
“I’m well known in Westminster. I get along with folk. I just do.”
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He added: “What you say as a backbencher and what you do wearing the real duty of public office are two different things. And I am foreign secretary. There are things I know now that I didn’t know back then, and that’s the truth of it.”
Mr Lammy was also asked about the potential impact of Mr Trump’s policies on UK trade.
Some experts have downplayed their forecasts for growth, citing concern over his proposals to put up tariffs.
Asked if the UK could seek a special trade arrangement with the US that exempts us from that plan, Mr Lammy said: “We will seek to ensure and to get across to the United States, and I believe that they would understand this, that hurting your closest allies cannot be in your medium or long-term interests.”