Deepen U.S. Ties By Protecting British Values, Ex-PM May Urges Johnson

LONDON: Former prime minister Theresa May, urged her successor Boris Johnson to protect Britain’s values to help strengthen ties with the new U.S. administration, saying his threat to break international law did nothing to raise “our credibility”.

May, who said she “never knew what to expect” from U.S. President Donald Trump, described the inauguration of Joe Biden in an article in the Daily Mail newspaper as a chance for both countries to better promote democratic values.

Britain’s former leader prompted criticism from some opposition lawmakers for being too close to Trump after he held her hand during a visit to Washington. But she has been outspoken in her criticism of Johnson since he replaced her in 2019.

“The arrival of President Biden provides Britain with a golden opportunity,” she said in the article.

“But to lead we must live up to our values,” she said, adding that threatening to break international law in talks with the European Union on a trade deal and moving away from defence and aid spending targets were “not actions which, in my view, raised our credibility in the eyes of the world”.

Biden will be sworn in as the 46th president of the United States later on Wednesday and the government hopes to reinvigorate ties with Washington, especially as London hosts the G7 meeting and COP26 climate change meeting this year.

Johnson said on Tuesday he looked forward to working closely with Biden highlighting the shared interests of the two close allies.

But the threat in last year’s EU talks to break international law in an post-Brexit arrangement for Northern Ireland prompted Biden to warn about a future U.S. trade deal if Britain failed to honour the 1998 Good Friday peace deal that effectively ended the province’s 30 years of sectarian violence.

Johnson dropped the threat after agreeing alternative arrangements with the EU alternative arrangements.

“With Brexit now achieved but the pandemic still raging and the long-term economic and social impact of COVID to be addressed, it is now even more important that we work together with our allies,” May wrote.

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