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A leading contender for Donald Trump’s national security adviser has accused Lord Cameron of “panda hugging” China and says he would rather work with Labour than the Conservatives.
Elbridge Colby, who worked for the US defence department in the first Trump administration, also criticised the former prime minister for “lecturing” Americans and for “foreign interference” in their political system over funding for Ukraine.
In contrast, Mr Colby held a meeting with David Lammy, the shadow foreign secretary, as part of Sir Keir Starmer’s recent charm offensive with Trump allies and concluded that they share a “compatible vision”.
Mr Colby, who runs a foreign policy think tank, was a vocal critic of the $61 billion aid package for Ukraine passed by Congress last month despite steadfast opposition from many Republicans.
The funding was supported by the UK Government and endorsed by Lord Cameron who made a personal trip to Congress and visited with Mr Trump at his Mar-a-Lago home ahead of the vote.
‘Astounding intervention’
In an interview with Politico’s Power Play podcast, Mr Colby described the Foreign Secretary’s trips as an “astounding intervention into the American system, I mean, talk about foreign interference”.
He added: “Cameron finds every opportunity to come and moralise to the Americans after he was responsible for cutting the British military and the ‘panda hug’ of China in the early 2010s. So it’s really the height of audacity for such a person to be coming and lecturing us.”
During his time as Prime Minister between 2010 and 2016, Lord Cameron hosted Xi Jinping, the Chinese president, for a friendly pint in a pub and encouraged closer political and economic ties between the two countries.
Mr Colby is a longstanding critic of China and, as a frontrunner for national security adviser, he could become an influential voice on foreign policy in the White House should Mr Trump win November’s presidential election.
This year could also see a change in Downing Street and Mr Colby welcomed the prospect of working with Mr Lammy.
Lammy ‘preferable’ to Cameron
He told Politico’s Power Play podcast: “Based on what I can see, David Lammy is far preferable to David Cameron, obviously. I mean absolutely.
“Lammy is laying out a more compatible vision to what people like me are talking about, which is an increase in defence, spending more of a UK focus on Europe. I’d rather have a lot less talk and haranguing and more delivery.”
The Telegraph revealed last week how Sir Keir’s efforts to curry favour with “Trump world” are being spearheaded by Mr Lammy.
Since being appointed to the shadow cabinet role in 2021, Mr Lammy has been to the US six times.
In addition to Mr Colby, he has met with Mr Trump’s former national security duo, Robert O’Brien and Matt Pottinger.
Mr Colby also criticised the levels of Britain’s defence spending despite Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s recent commitment to raising it from two to 2.5 per cent of GDP.
‘Fake accounting trickery’
He said: “The Poles are going to four percent defence spending, including over a transition of government.”
“Britain is giving us this fake accounting trickery and then yet coming in and haranguing us.”
On wider relations between the two countries, he added: “You just need a lot more realism in the UK Government. I find the gap between British conservatives and American conservatives must be at an all-time high. Maybe going back to, I don’t know, 1812.”
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