Joe Biden told ‘damage’ to UK relations ‘can’t be undone while still president’

Sunak greets Biden as he arrives on Downing Street

Joe Biden has been warned the “damage” he has done to the ‘special relationship’ between the UK and US now “cannot be undone while he is still president”.

The US president, unlike his predecessor Donald Trump, has shown little interest in progressing a post-Brexit trade deal with the UK. He had publicly voiced his displeasure at the Government’s stance on the Northern Ireland Protocol.

Last month, he skipped the Coronation of King Charles III and is reportedly pushing for European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen to be the next head of NATO – weeks after UK Defence Secretary Ben Wallace’s candidacy was blocked by the White House.

The 80-year-old visited Britain earlier this week but he was in the country for less than a full day and spent less than an hour with Rishi Sunak at 10 Downing Street – a move that has angered many.

Nile Gardiner, a foreign policy expert and former aide to Lady Margaret Thatcher, told Daily Express US: “The trip was pointless. It was a brief stop on the way to the NATO summit and there was nothing of any substance from it.

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“It just encapsulates Biden’s overall approach to the UK, which is dismissive and a further illustration that he is no friend of Britain.

“He has been the most anti-Briitish president in the modern era. He’s knifed Britain in the back on multiple occasions, from sinking a US-UK trade deal to most recently destroying the candidacy of Ben Wallace to be the next NATO Secretary-General.

“Biden has behaved in an appalling fashion and his visit to London – spending less than an hour with the Prime Minister and only a couple of hours with King Charles III at Windsor Castle.

Mr Biden has had to fend off fierce accusations over recent weeks that the US president is “anti-British”, a claim the White House has publicly denied.

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During talks with Mr Sunak on Monday, he insisted the ‘special relationship’ between the US and UK is “rock solid”.

But in the eyes of Mr Gardiner, the US president’s visit did absolutely nothing to silence the accusations he is “anti-British”.

The foreign policy expert continued: “This wasn’t even a minion state visit – it was just a brief stopover and Biden has done a great deal of damage to the ‘special relationship’ with the UK.

“I don’t think that can be undone, at least while he is still president but it can be reversed when we have a new Conservative president who actually believes in the alliance with Britain, and Biden clearly doesn’t.

“Nothing can be done to repair the damage that has been done while Biden is still president.”

Mr Biden flew into London on Sunday evening before traveling to 10 Downing Street for talks with Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.

The two leaders sipped tea in the garden in front of the media, with a number of topics on the table in the short meeting, including support for Ukraine during the war with Russia.

The US President insisted the relationship between the US and the UK is “rock solid” while Mr Sunak said it was “great for us to carry on our conversation” following a string of meetings this year, including last month’s visit to Washington.

The Prime Minister added: “We stand as two of the firmest allies in that alliance and I know we’ll want to do everything we can to strengthen Euro-Atlantic security.”

Mr Biden later tweeted a photo of him shaking hands with Mr Sunak on the steps of 10 Downing Street.

He wrote alongside the picture: “From 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue to 10 Downing Street – our two nations couldn’t have a closer friend, nor a greater ally, than one another. United.”

Downing Street later issued a statement announcing the two leaders had “agreed to hold the first high-level meeting between Number 10 and White House representatives in October to drive progress under the Atlantic Declaration”.

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