Donald Trump humiliated Keir Starmer today with brutal swipes at Labour’s Net Zero drive.
The US President used a rambling speech at the UN to brand climate change ‘the greatest con job ever’.
The UK was singled out for particular criticism, despite Mr Trump being honoured with his second state visit to Britain just last week.
Mr. Trump took aim at Labour’s London mayor, Sir Sadiq Khan, with an outlandish claim that he intended to bring Sharia law to the city.
Speaking to the UN General Assembly in New York, the US President said: ‘I want to prevent them from spoiling the picturesque Scottish and English countryside with wind turbines and enormous solar installations spanning miles, which encroach on farmland.
‘But we’re not letting this happen in America.’
Mr Trump described North Sea oil as ‘so highly taxed that no developer, no oil company can go there’.
He stated: ‘Many of these countries have given up their competitive edge in oil and gas, particularly concerning the near closure of the great North Sea oil.
Donald Trump used a rambling speech at the UN to brand climate change ‘the greatest con job ever’
The UK was singled out for particular criticism, despite Mr Trump being honoured with his second state visit to Britain just last week
‘Oh, the North Sea. I know it so well,’ the US President added.
‘Aberdeen was the oil capital of Europe and there’s tremendous oil that hasn’t been found in the North Sea – tremendous oil.’
Mr Trump referred to his visit to Britain last week, revealing that he had repeatedly urged Sir Keir to drill more fossil fuels.
‘I was with the Prime Minister – I respect and like a lot – and I said, ‘you’re sitting with the greatest asset’.’ he said.
‘They essentially closed it by making it so highly-taxed that no developer, no oil company, can go there.
‘They have tremendous oil left and, more importantly, they have tremendous oil that hasn’t even been found yet.
‘The United Kingdom has such a valuable asset, and I hope the Prime Minister is attentive because I repeated this to him for three consecutive days – it was all he heard.
‘North Sea oil, North Sea’.’
The US President claimed wind turbines were ‘ruining that beautiful Scottish and English countryside’
In his latest attack on Sir Sadiq, Mr Trump branded him a ‘terrible, terrible mayor’.
Talking about London, he said, ‘You have a dreadful mayor, just dreadful, and the city has changed so significantly,’ the US President told the UN.
‘Now they want to go to Sharia law. But you are in a different country, you can’t do that.’
A spokesperson for Sir Sadiq said: ‘We are not going to dignify his appalling and bigoted comments with a response.
‘London is the greatest city in the world, safer than major US cities, and we’re delighted to welcome the record number of US citizens moving here.’
Mr. Trump’s remarks on North Sea oil echoed his statements at a joint press conference with Sir Keir, following the end of his state visit last Thursday.
Speaking alongside the PM at Chequers, Sir Keir’s grace-and-favour estate, Mr Trump had suggested ramping up the production of fossil fuels would cut Brits’ energy bills.
He claimed that similar action in America had brought inflation ‘way down’ and left the US with a ‘very, very strong economy’.
‘We inherited the worst inflation in the history of our country… and we had an expression that I used a lot: Drill, baby, drill,’ Mr Trump said last week.
‘We brought fuel way down, the prices way down. We don’t do wind because wind is a disaster, it’s a very expensive joke, frankly.
‘We got our energy prices way down, that brought the inflation way down and now we have very little inflation and we have a very, very strong economy.
‘So that was very important – drill, baby, drill – and you have a great asset here, we spoke about it, it’s called the North Sea. North Sea oil is phenomenal.’
As well as a commitment to reaching Net Zero by 2050, Sir Keir also wants to decarbonise the UK’s electricity grid by 2030.
The Government has pledged a permanent ban on fracking to extract natural gas, in line with Labour’s general election manifesto.
Ministers have also vowed not to appove new oil and gas licenses in the North Sea.
In his own remarks at last week’s press conference, Sir Keir said he was ‘absolutely determined’ to cut energy prices, but insisted this would be done through a ‘mix’ of renewables and fossil fuels.
‘The mix will include oil and gas for many years to come from the North Sea. We’ve been clear about that for some time,’ the PM said.
‘But we also need to mix that with renewables and it’s the mix that’s really important.
‘The approach I’ve taken on this is the same approach that I take to many other things; a pragmatic approach.’
Downing Street was relieved the state visit passed off with minimal turmoil last week.
Mr Trump – who polls show is not popular in the UK – was kept largely away from London and the potential for protests.
