Britain’s foreign policy must be reshaped around fundamental values to save the country from being viewed as a “figure of fun” on the international stage, shadow foreign secretary David Lammy has told The Independent.
Mr Lammy and Sir Keir Starmer have been pointedly supportive of Boris Johnson’s government over the current crisis in Ukraine – vociferously declaring themselves a “party of Nato” in a move at least partly intended to distance Labour from the era of Jeremy Corbyn.
But the shadow foreign secretary said Johnson’s efforts to mount a firm stand against Vladimir Putin’s aggression were being undermined, not only by his domestic embarrassment over Downing Street parties, but also by his unreliability towards allies and his unwillingness to tackle the influence of Russian money in the UK.
“Part of my job in this role is to keep a close eye on what our allies and partner countries and others are saying about us,” said the shadow foreign secretary in an exclusive interview with The Independent.
“And it’s very clear that our enemies are laughing at Boris Johnson, our allies are despairing of Boris Johnson, and our population is largely ashamed of Boris Johnson.”
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Mr Lammy cited Mr Johnson’s threats to “blow up” his Northern Ireland protocol, and to abolish the Human Rights Act; his slashing of the UK aid budget; and his undermining of institutions such as the BBC and the British Council, which are vital to the UK’s “soft power” overseas.
And he said the PM’s “deeply inappropriate” use of populist tropes about Europe, and his spats with Emmanuel Macron over fish, had contributed to a situation wherein the UK is no longer taken seriously internationally.
“It’s that rhetoric that leads us to a place where we become a figure of fun,” he said. “You just have to read the way that Boris Johnson is described in international media to be very concerned that such a serious country as ours should become a figure of fun because of who we’re led by.”
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Mr Lammy revealed that he and shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves had received no answer to a letter sent to their government counterparts Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak earlier this month demanding action to stop Russia using London as a launderette for dirty money.
US State Department officials have privately said Joe Biden fears that the leverage of sanctions on Putin risks being undermined by the entrenchment of Russian finance in the city some have nicknamed “Londongrad”.
In their letter, Mr Lammy and Ms Reeves urged the Johnson administration to tighten up business rules, implement the recommendations of the 2020 Russia report by parliament’s Intelligence and Security Committee, and return an estimated ￡5m received by the Conservative Party from Russian donors in recent years.
“We are supportive of severe sanctions on Russia in the event of them invading,” said Mr Lammy. “But we in the opposition have been asking these questions now for well over 18 months, and the lethargic attitude that the government has shown towards our own security is unfathomable.”
Asked if his failure to act on concerns over the influence of Russian money in the UK had destroyed the PM’s credibility on Ukraine, Mr Lammy replied: “It doesn’t have to, if the government acts with pace and speed and severity, but clearly in the absence of that it sends the wrong messages.”
He said: “I don’t want to play party politics at this time. It’s hugely important, against Russian aggression, that Europe is united – across the European continent, but also in our democracies. It’s important that we are as united as we can be about the sovereignty of Ukraine and its territorial integrity, and about standing up to what is an aggressive posture from Russia.”
But he added: “We have got the wrong prime minister at a very, very serious time.
“It’s hugely important that the government plays a full and appropriate role at this time, and I’m worried that Boris Johnson is having to spend so much of his time dealing with the drip, drip, drip of constant revelations that are emerging from 10 Downing Street about partying.
“I don’t think any of us would ever have thought that we would have a situation where the prime minister was unable to make a call to Vladimir Putin because he was dealing with these issues. I think that’s unprecedented, given the seriousness of the times.”
Restoring Britain’s reputation internationally will require moving from the current administration’s “transactional” foreign policy to one that is founded in values, said Mr Lammy.
“I think this government – and this has been amplified since Liz Truss became foreign secretary – sees our relationship with the world in transactional terms,” he said.
“That is a huge departure for this great country. And I think it undermines our position with our allies, with our partners, because it’s so self-serving, venal and transparent in its nature.”
He stopped short of repeating his predecessor Robin Cook’s promise of a “foreign policy with an ethical dimension”.
But he said: “The consistency, the reliability, the integrity of Britain and its foreign policy is hugely important. And here what’s essential are values that I think are Labour values – values of internationalism, values of multilateralism, values of support for the rule of law and democracy.
“In this populist age of Trumpian politics, of the politics of division – not just autocrats pushing that division, but elected politicians pushing that division for their own elected gain – we have to [have] a values-based approach to our relationships.
“The only way to deal with China, for example, is through multilateralism, where you can cooperate on issues like climate change, but you have to challenge very hard the genocide that we’re seeing with the Uighurs. You have to do that collectively.”
The fervent pro-European’s appointment by Sir Keir to the foreign policy brief in November gave rise to some speculation that the party could be preparing to shift on the agnostic stance it has taken towards Brexit since the last election.
But Mr Lammy poured cold water on any talk of a return to the 27-nation bloc, despite polls showing growing public enthusiasm for rejoining.
“I want to see Labour in power, able to affect change for the lives of the British people. Twenty-one years in public life has taught me that to get into power, you have to be looking forward, not backwards,” he said.
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While acknowledging the “pain” he and others feel at losing Britain’s EU membership, he said: “There are stages in grief. And the Labour Party has got to be at the end stage of that grief, looking forward and understanding that we have to move forward for a new day.
“That means, of course, that you’ve still got to be at the centre of Europe. You still have to have diplomatic, political, and social relations, even if you’ve stepped away from the economic relationship that we had in the past.”