Sir Keir Starmer has issued a stark warning to the United States, declaring that any American decision to withdraw from NATO would trigger the rapid removal of US forces from British soil.
In a statement released Thursday morning, the Prime Minister said that if President Trump follows through on threats to abandon the military alliance, he would expect US personnel to depart from bases including RAF Lakenheath and RAF Mildenhall “within 48 hours”.
Starmer also signalled that his government would demand retrospective payment for decades of US access to British military facilities, describing the arrangement as “rent-free” occupation.
“If the United States chooses to walk away from NATO, that is a decision for the United States. Britain will remain. Europe will remain,” Starmer said.
“But there is a simple point of principle. If you are no longer prepared to stand with your allies, you do not get to park your forces on their soil for free.”
The Prime Minister confirmed that any withdrawal would need to be conducted “in an orderly fashion, agreed with the Ministry of Defence and our local communities”. However, he set a firm timeline of 48 hours for the process to begin.
Starmer went further, stating that the US has benefited from access to more than a dozen British facilities “without paying a penny in ground rent”. He said his government would expect “a full and final settlement of historic rent by the end of the week, on commercial terms”.
The comments represent a significant hardening of the UK’s position regarding the so-called special relationship and come in response to repeated suggestions from the Trump campaign that a future US administration could reconsider its NATO commitments.
Starmer framed the demand as a matter of sovereignty, rejecting what he described as lectures from Washington on European defence spending while US aircraft operate from British bases.
“That is what sovereignty looks like,” he said. “You do not get to lecture Europe about ‘burden sharing’ while flying your aircraft from our countryside rent-free. Britain will always value the Atlantic alliance. But we will not be taken for granted by any president of the United States – past, present or future.”
The statement is likely to test diplomatic relations with Washington. The US maintains a significant military presence in the UK, with around 10 major bases hosting thousands of personnel. RAF Lakenheath in Suffolk is one of the largest US Air Force operations in Europe.
Downing Street has not yet clarified whether the demand for historic rent would extend to non-NATO scenarios or whether the 48-hour timeline would apply if a US withdrawal from NATO were to occur gradually.
The White House has not yet responded to the Prime Minister’s remarks.
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