British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has condemned President Donald Trump’s false claims that non-American NATO troops “stayed a little back” from the front line during the war in Afghanistan.
“I consider President Trump’s remarks to be insulting and, frankly, appalling,” said Starmer on Friday, adding he was not surprised the comments had caused “such hurt” across the country.
Starmer paid tribute to the “457 [members] of our armed services who lost their lives in Afghanistan” and vowed to never forget the sacrifice they made to the United Kingdom. He also paid respect to the many more who were injured, “some with life-changing” injuries.
When told that some are calling for an apology from Trump, the U.K. Prime Minister appeared to be in agreement, although he stopped short of telling the President to apologize.
“If I had misspoken in that way, or said those words, I would certainly apologize,” he said.
As he did earlier in the week when denouncing Trump’s tariffs threat, Starmer doubled down on the importance of the “very close relationship” between the U.K. and U.S., but said it’s because of that alliance that the U.K. “fought alongside the Americans for our values in Afghanistan.”
TIME has reached out to the White House for comment.
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During an interview with Fox News on Thursday, Trump said he was unsure if NATO would be there to support the U.S. if it were needed.
“We’ve never needed them, we have never really asked anything of them. You know, they’ll say they sent some troops to Afghanistan, or this or that, and they did, they stayed a little back, a little off the front lines,” he claimed.
Trump has repeatedly aired his grievances with NATO and recently refused to ruled out leaving the alliance over his contentious push to annex Greenland.
NATO’s Article 5, in which all members consider “an armed attack against one or more of them in Europe or North America shall be considered an attack against them all,” has only been activated once, in the aftermath of the 9/11 terror attacks in the U.S. in 2001.
Former U.K. Prime Minister Tony Blair, after 9/11, pledged to “stand shoulder to shoulder” with the U.S. in its response to the al-Qaida attacks. British troops went on to play a role in the Afghanistan war until their withdrawal in 2014. The U.S. stayed on until August 2021.
Blair, who was recently appointed to serve on the Executive Board overseeing Trump’s Gaza Board of Peace, responded to the President’s remarks on Friday, although he didn’t mention Trump by name.
A spokesperson for the former Labour Party leader told TIME via email: “Tony Blair knows—and will always remember with deep gratitude—the enormous contribution and sacrifice British troops made in Afghanistan on the front line of the fight against terrorism, following the 9/11 attacks on the U.S.”
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Many British lawmakers issued stronger statements, directly denouncing Trump’s false claims.
British Defence Secretary John Healey said: “The U.K. and NATO allies answered the U.S. call. Those British troops should be remembered for who they were: heroes who gave their lives in service of our nation.”
Alistair Carns, the U.K. Minister of State for the Armed Forces who himself served five tours in Afghanistan, referred to Trump’s claims as “utterly ridiculous.”
“Many courageous and honorable service personnel from many nations fought on the front line,” he said. “We shed blood, sweat, and tears together. And not everybody came home.”
He later shared a video of himself serving on the front line in Afghanistan.
Leader of the opposition Conservative Party, Kemi Badenoch, called Trump’s remarks “flat-out nonsense” and said the sacrifice of NATO troops deserves “respect not denigration.”
Earlier on Friday, Downing Street had said that Trump was “wrong to diminish the role of troops, including British forces.”
Prince Harry, who returned to the U.K. this week to give evidence in his case against Associated Newspapers Limited, issued a statement on Friday afternoon, remembering how “allies answered [the] call” in support of the U.S.
“Thousands of lives were changed forever. Mothers and fathers buried sons and daughters. Children were left without a parent. Families are left carrying the cost. Those sacrifices deserve to be spoken about truthfully and with respect, as we all remain united and loyal to the defence of diplomacy and peace,” he is quoted as saying.
Outside of the U.K., other NATO allies also took a firm stance against Trump’s remarks.
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk recalled a ceremony he attended in 2011 that paid tribute to five Polish soldiers who were killed in Afghanistan.
“The American officers who accompanied me then told me that America would never forget the Polish heroes,” he said. “Perhaps they will remind President Trump of that fact.”
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