Politics latest: Britain can learn a lesson from Trump, says foreign secretary (2024)

The foreign secretary is - not for the first time - asked to reflect on his previous disobliging tweets about Donald Trump.

And he again dismisses them, saying "all politicians from all descriptions had all sorts of things to say" about him when he first came to power, adding: "I'm not looking back, I'm looking forward."

David Lammy cites his recent dinner date with the president-elect and Keir Starmer at New York's Trump Tower.

It took place in September.

"I enjoyed meeting Donald Trump - he was a very gracious host," he says.

"The prime minister and I had a good meal, we had a good discussion, we had a laugh in places, and I look forward to working with him."

He tells the Foreign Affairs Committee: "Just as he has been gracious to me, I will be gracious to him."

Last month saw David Lammy join the prime minister at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Samoa.

It brought up the question whether Britain should pay reparations to former colonies - something Keir Starmer ruled out despite pressure from other world leaders at the summit.

Mr Lammy has reiterated that stance, saying: "We will not be making cash transfers and payments to the Caribbean."

The focus should instead be on "our future relationships", he says.

David Lammy is asked whether he's still willing to engage with Israel's prime minister despite him being "a wanted man".

It comes after Benjamin Netanyahu, along with his former defence minister Yoav Gallant, were hit with International Criminal Court warrants over the war in Gaza.

Mr Lammy told the Foreign Affairs Committee be believes engagement must continue "in emergency situations".

"I absolutely stand by the ability to talk to Netanyahu," he says, about issues like access to aid in Gaza and the ceasefire in Lebanon.

It would be "hugely problematic" if the government stopped engaging with Israel, he adds.

Britain will train and support the Lebanese army to help secure the ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah, Foreign Secretary David Lammy has said.

He told MPs the UK would renew the help it had previously given "and I would hope increase that support over this coming period".

Mr Lammy told the Foreign Affairs Committee today: "You would expect us to be supporting the LAF (Lebanese armed forces) as they try and secure the south, particularly.

"We want to be in a situation where Lebanese can move back south and Israelis can move back north, and we see the end to fighting and gunshots, and the death toll that we've seen, particularly of civilians."

Asked whether the UK's contribution to the UN peacekeeping force would increase, he said: "My commitment is for us to stand by Lebanon and that means increased support going forward, and we play an important role - that has been primarily in support of the armed forces."

While we were listening in to Kemi Badenoch, Foreign Secretary David Lammy was up at the Foreign Affairs Committee.

Labour's Emily Thornberry asked what Mr Lammy wants to achieve in his role in the next 12 months - and so, what the committee should judge him on.

He responds the UK can "take at least one lesson from Donald Trump".

"The art of the deal."

Mr Lammy says growth is a "central challenge for our country", adding: "Judge me by the deals that I am able to secure."

What agreements are on the cards?

Turning to what he hopes to achieve, the foreign secretary points to potential deals with the EU.

"I have opened up foreign policy dialogue with the EU," he says.

"We need to secure a new EU defence pact."

Looking further afield, Mr Lammy mentions a new "tech security initiative" with India.

He says the UK wants to see "returns" on those deals in the year ahead.

Our political correspondent Tamara Cohen now asks Kemi Badenoch how her migration cap would be different to previous targets - which were never met.

The Tory leader says she believes previous caps didn't work because there was an "assumption" that simply stating a number was "enough".

"And then hoping that things would work themselves out."

Mrs Badenoch says her Conservative Party will "explain" how they will reach a set number.

"We are moving beyond rhetoric," she says.

"I am not somebody who just talks."

Now taking questions, Kemi Badenoch is asked whether it is still an aim of the Conservative Party to reintroduce the failed Rwanda scheme.

The Conservative leader says the party believe a deterrent is "necessary".

She adds: "It is not just us who thinks this, [European Commission chief] Ursula von der Leyen has said that offshore processing is going to be required.

"Now, we don't know where we are going to be in four years' time, it may be that there have been changes with what the Rwandan government is offering... but we certainly still want a deterrent.

"We would not have cancelled the Rwanda plan before it had even got started - like Labour did."

Our chief political correspondent Jon Craig has outlasted plenty of Conservative leaders and plenty of the party's greatest hits were on show during Kemi Badenoch's immigration speech.

Notably she pledged a "strict numerical cap" were the Tories to come back into power - something David Cameron and a host of his successors also used to talk about.

Jon says she was very much "preaching to the Tory activists", trying to "show them she's tough on migration".

She also criticised Labour for scrapping the Rwanda plan.

"A rallying cry to the Tories' core vote," says Jon, as the spectre of Reform's Nigel Farage hangs over her party.

Farage and his allies are "proving to be a real threat", and riding high in the opinion polls at the moment.

"The Tory fightback against Reform starts here."

Continuing her speech, Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch admits her party "got it wrong" on immigration in the past.

She now sets out a five-point plan, with plans to review every policy, treaty, and part of our legal framework - including the European Convention of Human Rights and the Human Rights Act.

Mrs Badenoch says: "On behalf of the Conservative Party, it is right that I as the new leader accept responsibility and say truthfully we got this wrong.

"I more than understand the public anger on this issue. I share it.

"The Conservatives will develop a detailed plan for immigration to put before the British public before the next election."

The Tory leader lays out a five-point plan:

1. To place a "strict numerical cap" on immigration, with "visas only for those who will make a substantial and clear overall contribution";
2. A "fully transparent approach" - publishing all the data, so the real costs and benefits of migration are clear;
3. Plans to "reconsider" the UK's approach to "citizenship and settlement";
4. "Zero tolerance" for foreign criminals in the UK;
5. An "effective deterrent" for illegal migration.