Trump's pick for vice president says UK an 'Islamist' country under Labour

Donald Trumps newly appointed running mate JD Vance stated in a speech last week that the UK is becoming an 'Islamist country'. Our reporter Carl Dinnen explains.

Donald Trump's new running mate JD Vance said the UK would become the first "Islamist country" to get a nuclear weapon following Labour's election win.

The Ohio senator was formally nominated on Monday as Trump's choice for vice president if he is re-elected, but attention in the UK has turned to comments he made two weeks ago about the Labour Party.

Speaking at the National Conservatism conference earlier this month, Vance asked: "What is the first truly Islamist country that will get a nuclear weapon? Maybe it's actually the UK, since Labour just took over."

Labour's Deputy PM Angela Rayner dismissed the comments by Vance on Tuesday, saying "he said quite a lot of fruity things in the past."

"I don't recognise that characterisation", Rayner told ITV's Good Morning Britain.

The Deputy PM said: "I’m very proud of the election success that Labour had recently. We won votes across all different communities, across the whole of the country."

Rayner added: "I look forward to that meeting if that is the result. It’s up to the American people to decide."

Former Conservative minister Andrew Bowie has criticised the comments about Labour. Bowie told ITV News he "disagree[s] fundamentally" with Vance's comments.

Keir Starmer and his Foreign Secretary David Lammy have been trying to build a relationship with Trump and his key allies ahead of the former President's potential re-election in November.

Starmer was one of a select few foreign leaders who spoke to Trump after the assassination attempt on Saturday. The PM condemned the violence, expressed his condolences for the victims and their families, and wished the President and those injured a quick recovery.

Lammy has also met with Vance a number of times in recent months, with the foreign secretary describing him a "friend" and expressing admiration for his working-class upbringing.

A further big concern for the UK, if Trump wins, is likely to be Vance's views on the war in Ukraine.

He was central in efforts to knock down a bill giving Ukraine more aid, and also said just after the Russian invasion "I don't really care about what happens to Ukraine."

Vance believes the US needs to focus its efforts in Asia rather than Ukraine, telling the Munich Security Conference in February this year: "I'm much more interested in some of the problems in East Asia right now than I am in Europe."

A YouGov poll for the Times newspaper revealed on Monday that Trump is ahead in the seven key swing states, even before the assassination attempt on the former President.

The former US president made a dramatic return to the public eye overnight at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee - his first appearance since he was shot by 20-year-old gunman Thomas Crooks on Saturday night.

A visibly emotional Trump was greeted by huge applause as delegates cheered wildly for the Republican nominee, who was formally confirmed as the party's candidate on Monday.

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