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May closes door on 'failed' foreign policy ahead of Trump talks

Mrs May will later become the first foreign leader to have face-to-face talks with President Trump since his inauguration.

By Tamara Cohen, Political Correspondent

Friday 27 January 2017 17:11, UK

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Theresa May last night closed the door on two decades of "failed" foreign policy which took Britain into the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

In a speech to Republicans in Washington, Mrs May vowed that Britain and the US should never again try to "remake the world in their own image".

The comments are a dismantling of Tony Blair's doctrine of "liberal interventionism" set out in his Chicago speech in 1999 - in which he declared that Britain should not let brutal dictators go unchallenged.

In a clear shift towards a more traditional foreign policy based on self-interest, Mrs May said Britain and the US must defend Western values and ideas on the world stage, but not at all costs.

She warned: "This cannot mean a return to the failed policies of the past. The days of Britain and America intervening in sovereign countries in an attempt to remake the world in our own image are over…We must be strong, smart and hard-headed.

"And we must demonstrate the resolve necessary to stand up for our interests."

Mrs May and Mr Trump will hold face-to-face talks in the Oval office today in which they are likely to discuss foreign policy, as well as the prospects of a swift trade deal when Britain leaves the EU.

But first she visited Arlington National Cemetery, where a number of British troops who died fighting alongside the Americans in various wars are buried. There she laid a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

The new President has said US troops "should never have gone into Iraq" because the war destabilised the Middle East. Hillary Clinton's record on Iraq and Libya was a key issue during the election campaign.

Image: Margaret Thatcher and former US president Ronald Reagan share a laugh during a meeting of the Allied leaders in New York, 1985
Image: Ronald Reagan drives Margaret Thatcher toward a meeting in Camp David after her arrival by helicopter from Washington, 1986
Image: Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher dance in the foyer of the White House, 1988
Image: Margaret Thatcher and then-US vice president George HW Bush pause for the press, 1986
Image: Bill and Hillary Clinton sing the US national anthem alongside John and Norma Major at the American Cemetery and Memorial in Cambridge, 1994
Image: Bill Clinton toasts with prime minister John Major at No 10 Downing Street in 1995
Image: Bill Clinton and British prime minister Tony Blair in Paris, 1997
Image: Tony and Cherie Blair sit down to dinner with Bill and Hillary Clinton at a restaurant in London, 1997
Image: Bill Clinton hugs Tony Blair upon his arrival at the Denver Summit of the Eight. Blair obliged Clinton's request that all the leaders wear cowboy boots
Image: George W Bush and Tony Blair as they enter 10 Downing Street, 2003
Image: George W Bush shakes hands with Tony Blair during the NATO Summit in Istanbul, Turkey, 2004
Image: George W Bush and Tony Blair after speaking to reporters about Iraq in Washington, 2006
Image: Barack Obama and Gordon Brown walk through the Colonnade at the White House in Washington, 2009
Image: Gordon Brown during a joint news conference with Barack Obama at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in London, 2009
Image: Gordon Brown and Barack Obama leave 10 Downing Street, 2009
Image: Barack Obama plays table tennis against students with David Cameron at the Globe Academy in London, 2011
Image: Barack Obama and David Cameron eat hot dogs at a basketball game in Ohio, 2012
Image: Barack Obama welcomes David Cameron aboard Air Force One at Andrews Air Force Base, Maryland, 2012
Image: Theresa May looks over toward Barack Obama during the luncheon at the United Nations General Assembly in New York, 2016
Image: Barack Obama and Theresa May at Westlake Statehouse in Hangzhou, China, 2016

In her address in Philadelphia yesterday, Mrs May lavished praise on the special relationship which she said had "defined the modern world" and brought liberty and prosperity to millions.

But she took a tough line on the issue of Russia, with Mrs May saying the right approach to Vladimir Putin should be to "engage but beware".

While conflict with Mr Putin was "not inevitable", she said, the Prime Minister also warned against allowing Eastern Europe to be regarded as his "sphere of influence".

An issue likely to be on today's agenda is policy towards Iran. Mrs May pleased the Republican audience by condemning the country's "malign influence" but she does not support Mr Trump's intention to rip up the agreement negotiated last year on its nuclear weapons and reimpose sanctions.

Mrs May said Mr Trump's victory would allow the US to be "stronger, greater, and more confident in the years ahead", as she stressed the Brexit vote would restore sovereignty and independence to Britain.

Her speech was warmly received with five standing ovations - including for her comments on Russia.

Mrs May is the first foreign leader to meet with Mr Trump since his inauguration last Friday, in a sign of Downing Street's determination to make the special relationship work.

Mrs May joked about the pair's notably different personalities - the vicar's daughter meeting the brash businessman - telling journalists that "opposites attract".

During his campaign, she had described Mr Trump's policies as "divisive, stupid and wrong", but in her speech she praised his election victory even as she voiced differences to some of his agenda.

Mr Trump caused a storm of controversy after claiming that waterboarding of terror suspects "absolutely works". Mrs May said yesterday: "We condemn torture and my view on that won't change."

:: Watch President Trump: The First Week - a Sky News special at midnight.

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