Former Tory MP Says Trump Running Mate's Claim UK Is An 'Islamist Country' Was 'A Joke'

A former Tory MP has insisted Donald Trump’s running mate was “making a joke” when he claimed Britain is “an Islamist country”.

JD Vance made the remark last week - just days before he was chosen by Trump as his pick to be vice-president if he wins the US election in November.

Speaking at a National Conservatism conference in Washington DC, Vance said: “I was talking with a friend recently and we were talking about one of the big dangers in the world is nuclear proliferation, though of course the Biden administration doesn’t care about it.

“I was talking about what is the first truly Islamist country that will get a nuclear weapon. We were like ‘maybe it’s Iran, maybe Pakistan already kind of counts’.

“And we sort of finally decided maybe it’s the UK, since Labour just took over.”

Vance’s remarks have been condemned by both Labour and Conservative frontbenchers.

But appearing on GB News, Miriam Cates - who was one of nearly 200 Tory MPs who lost their seats in the general election - defended the comments.

She said: “If you watch the whole speech, which is actually a fantastic speech and I would highly recommend it, he was actually making a joke.

“Now your viewers might think it’s not a very good taste joke, but if you watch the whole speech he was just kind of having a little dig at the UK. The NatCon conference does like to make headlines, and actually the rest of his speech is about his vision for America.”