PM accused of 'looking ridiculous' over stance on US action in Venezuela

Evening Standard

Sir Ed Davey accused the Prime Minister of “looking ridiculous” for refusing to say that the US president had broken international law over his actions in Venezuela.The Lib Dem leader quoted Geoffrey Robertson KC – the founding head of Doughty Street Chambers, where Sir Keir was a member – who said the president’s actions were a breach of the United Nations Charter, and a crime of aggression.Sir Keir responded that there had been “plenty of things that Geoffrey and I have agreed and disagreed on” and reiterated that nobody would shed a tear for Maduro’s removal as the Venezuelan leader.“The benchmark of all actions of all countries is, of course, international law, and it is for the US to justify its actions,” he added..

Transcript

00:00The Prime Minister just looks ridiculous when he won't tell the truth that Trump has broken

00:05international law. Mr Speaker, Geoffrey Robertson, KC, is a respected authority on international

00:15law. He's also the head of the Prime Minister's barrister chambers. And he couldn't be clearer.

00:22President Trump's actions in Venezuela are illegal. He says the United States, and I quote,

00:30is in breach of the United Nations Charter and has committed the crime of aggression,

00:36which the court at Nuremberg described as a supreme crime. Does the Prime Minister agree

00:42with his old mentor, or has he got it wrong?

00:46There's plenty of things that Geoffrey and I have agreed on or disagreed with over the

00:50years, but let me set out our position. It is our long-standing position that Maduro was

00:55not a legitimate president in Venezuela. And so nobody, I think, sheds any tears at his

01:03removal. And what we need, what we were saying before the weekend, and we say again, is there

01:09needs to be a peaceful transition to democracy in Venezuela.

01:13Now, the benchmark of all actions, of all countries, is, of course, international law.

01:18And it is for the US to justify its actions accordingly. My focus is on the defence and

01:25security of the United Kingdom. And yesterday we were working with NATO allies, including

01:31the US, on security guarantees for Ukraine. And it's only with security guarantees that

01:37we'll have a just and lasting peace in Ukraine, which is vitally important for Ukraine, for

01:43Europe and for the United Kingdom.

01:44Sir Ed David.

01:46Mr Speaker, the Prime Minister just looks ridiculous when he won't tell the truth that Trump has

01:52broken international law.

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