Grant Shapps reportedly “p***** off” American diplomats with a remark he made in the lead-up to joint US and UK strikes on Houthi targets in Yemen.
The Western allies launched airstrikes against the rebel group on Thursday night following repeated Houthi attacks on shipping vessels in the Red Sea. While the strikes represented a key moment of solidarity between Rishi Sunak and US President Joe Biden, a comment by the defence secretary reportedly frustrated the White House due to security concerns.
Ahead of the strikes being launched, and prior to the joint announcement that they would be made, Mr Shapps responded “watch this space” when he was asked about whether there would be a response to the Houthi aggression. The defence secretary reportedly intended to make sure the strikes did not seem to come out of the blue.
But a US senior diplomat reportedly told the Times: “There was some real annoyance at the defence secretary for his ‘watch this space’ comment. The leaks in the hours before the attack really pissed off the Americans to the extent that engagement on the political side suddenly evaporated.
“We had planes in the air with pilots flying over dangerous, difficult terrain. They were pretty grumpy about operational security.”
It comes as Mr Sunak boosted his relations with the US for his decisiveness over the decision to attack, even quoting George Bush senior with the phrase “this must not stand” – used by the previous US president following the Iraq invasion of Kuwait in 1990.
Senior figures in Washington were reportedly impressed by the PM’s certainty on the matter, with one telling the outlet: “Right from the get go, from the end of last year, he was the one pushing quite hard to ensure some kind of military response.
“It felt more black and white. Let’s do a little whack-a-mole. That didn’t feel entirely characteristic.”
A Foreign Office source added there was “clear satisfaction in the US system”.
It marks a positive shift in relations for Mr Sunak, after Mr Biden recently dashed hopes of a post-Brexit transatlantic trade deal between the US and the UK.
Opposition from members of the US Democractic Party scuppered trade talks, according to Politico.
Talks were officially launched at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic – but little progress has occurred between then and when Mr Biden’s administration took power in the 2020 presidential election.
But one British and one American source told Politico that the negotiations are now off. “I don’t think we’re going to see that re-emerge,” one said.
British exports to the US accounted for 17 percent of all exports in June – but for Washington, reaching a trade deal with London has not been a priority.
Mr Trump’s predecessor, Barack Obama, famously said in the run-up to the 2016 Brexit referendum that the UK would be “at the back of the queue” for any such deal were the British people to vote in favour of leaving the European Union.
Whitehall sources told the Daily Telegraph that the agreement could be brought back under a second Donald Trump administration if he wins the US election in November.
