BRITAIN will not “yield to pressure” from Donald Trump to abandon its values, Sir Keir Starmer pledged yesterday as the transatlantic row over the US president’s attempt to grab Greenland intensified.

This came as Mr Trump ruled out the use of force to seize the territory from Denmark.

In a sudden shift to neo-Churchillian rhetoric in the Commons, the Prime Minister told MPs: “I have made my position clear on our principles and values. The first of those is that the future of Greenland is for the people of Greenland and the kingdom of Denmark alone.

“The second is that threats of tariffs to pressurise allies are completely wrong.

“I want to be clear with the house. I will not yield, Britain will not yield, on our principles and values about the future of Greenland and the threats of tariffs. And that is my clear position.”

At the World Economic Forum meeting in Davos, Switzerland, Chancellor Rachel Reeves claimed that the Starmer government would not let itself be “buffeted around” by US threats.

“Britain is not here to be buffeted around. We’ve got an economic plan and it is the right one for our country,” she said.

This toughening of the government line came as British-US relations appeared to be in a downward spiral. 

Elsewhere in Davos, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent warned that trade agreements may be imperilled and repeated Mr Trump’s attacks on the deal for Britain to hand sovereignty over the Chagos Islands to Mauritius.

Many MPs want the government to go still further in standing up to Washington. 

Left Labour MP Steve Witherden told Sir Keir in the Commons: “The thug in the White House has shown that he doesn’t listen to grovelling or sycophancy.

“He’ll continue to harm British interests no matter how compliant we are and, like all bullies, he will always find the weakest link.

“Will the Prime Minister close ranks with our European allies and commit to retaliatory tariffs?” Mr Witherden asked.

Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey demanded: “With Donald Trump increasingly acting like a crime boss running a protection racket threatening to smash up our economy unless he gets his hands on Greenland, will the Prime Minister join [Canadian] Prime Minister [Mark] Carney and [French] President [Emmanuel] Macron in standing up far more strongly to President Trump?”

The Prime Minister is not ready to go that far. He instead warned of the dangers of a trade war and underlined Britain’s dependence on Washington.

“The relationship with the US matters, especially on defence, security and intelligence, on nuclear capability, also on trade and prosperity,” he said.

A recent You Gov poll showed that 55 per cent of the British people are ready to kick US bases out of Britain if Greenland was attacked. The poll showed that large majorities of Labour and Green voters and even most Tories supported the position, with just 22 per cent opposed.

Stop the War Coalition vice-chairman Chris Nineham told the Morning Star: “This poll shows that ordinary people in Britain are appalled by what Trump is doing and it is the basis for a mass campaign to expel the US military from Britain, which Stop the War will be launching shortly.

“The fact is that people are opposed to the appeasement of Trump by Starmer and the European leaders but also to their mimicking of him by ramping up arms spending.”

Independent MP Jeremy Corbyn said: “US bases should have been removed the moment they invaded Venezuela — a flagrant violation of international law.

“We need an independent foreign policy based on diplomacy and peace, which looks to collaborate with partners everywhere, including the global South, on the biggest challenges facing us all, such as the climate crisis and sickening global inequality.”

After landing in Davos yesterday, Mr Trump told assembled world leaders that he was ruling out using force to take over Greenland, having previously been vague about how far he is willing to go.

“I don’t have to use force. I don’t want to use force. I won’t use force,” he said.

But the president demanded “immediate negotiations” for the US to buy Greenland from Denmark, despite both having already made it clear that the mineral-rich and strategically important island is not for sale.

The president also lashed out at Denmark for being “ungrateful” for the US protection of the Arctic island during World War II and continued to insist that the US needs to control the island for the sake of national security.

Mr Trump made the wild claim that Greenland “is actually part of North America. That’s our territory.”

He also explained to his audience how difficult it was to carry out mining on the Arctic island, saying: “You got to go through hundreds of feet of ice.”

But he added that he main reason he wanted Greenland was for the “strategic national security and international security” of the US.

“We want a piece of ice for world protection and they won’t give it,” he told the leaders.

“You can say yes and we will be very appreciative. Or you can say no and we will remember.”

In a wide-ranging and typically rambling speech, Mr Trump took a swipe at his Canada’s prime minister, who had said on Tuesday that the current phase of global diplomacy was a “rupture” and called for “middle powers” to “act together.”

The US president claimed that Canada received many “freebies” from the US and “should be grateful,” but Mr Carney’s Davos speech showed he “wasn’t so grateful.”

“Canada lives because of the US,” Mr Trump said. “Remember that, Mark, the next time you make your statements.”

In response, a Stop Trump Coalition spokesperson said: “At Davos, Trump laid out his alternative world order, an order based on aggression, bullying and warfare, a world order that would devastate the global economy, increase inequality, accelerate climate collapse and unleash violence before diplomacy.”

The spokesperson accused the British government of fundamentally misunderstanding the moment we are living in, saying: “It must now declare an end to its failed appeasement policy and declare independence from this dangerous leader and the US oligarchy, instead using its status to rebuild and refocus multilateral institutions on promoting equality and peace.”

Before Mr Trump ruled out military action, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said there was now a “deep crisis” for Nato which raised questions about the alliance’s preservation as a single military-political bloc.

He told a news conference on Tuesday that “a major upheaval” was taking place in Europe “and we are watching it.”

Mr Lavrov also described Denmark’s control of Greenland as a vestige of the colonial past.

“In principle, Greenland isn’t a natural part of Denmark,” he added.

At the same time, Mr Lavrov strongly rejected Mr Trump’s suggestions that Russia and China have any designs on the Arctic island.