00:00There's been a good deal of pressure on me to change my position in relation to joining the war.
00:05I changed my position on the war.
00:08So whatever the pressure, whatever the noise, I'm the British Prime Minister and I have to act in our national
00:14interests.
00:37President Trump said yesterday that he wouldn't come with the aid of the UK anymore in his true social post.
00:43How seriously do you take that threat from our main ally?
00:46Well, it's very important that we're clear there's been a good deal of pressure on me to change my position
00:54in relation to joining the war.
00:57And I'm not going to change my position on the war.
01:00So whatever the pressure, whatever the noise, I'm the British Prime Minister and I have to act in our national
01:07interests.
01:09I should say that on defence and security and intelligence we're obviously working closely with the US as we always
01:15do.
01:16And in relation to the planning on the Straits of Hormuz, of course that involves talking to Americans as well.
01:22So as I say, whatever the pressure, whatever the noise, my job is as British Prime Minister to concentrate on
01:30what's in the British national interest.
01:32That's what's guided me through this conflict so far.
01:35It will continue to guide me as we go forward.
01:37Thank you very much.
01:37And today I can announce that later this week the Foreign Secretary will host a meeting that brings those nations
01:46together for the first time where we will assess all viable diplomatic and political measures that we can take to
01:55restore freedom of navigation, guarantee the safety of trapped ships and seafarers and resume the movement of vital commodities.
02:05Following that meeting, we will also convene our military planners to look at how we can marshal our capabilities and
02:13make the strait accessible and safe after the fighting has stopped.
02:20Because I do have to level with people on this.
02:24This will not be easy.
02:27Now, it's not going to be easy.
02:31Clearly.
02:32And in the coming weeks, as you would expect, we will continue to assess the economic effects.
02:38We will continue to stand up for the British national interest and we will continue to do what we must
02:45to guide our country calmly through this storm.
02:51However, it is increasingly clear that as the world continues down this volatile path, our long-term national interest requires
03:02closer partnership with our allies in Europe and with the European Union.
03:08With NATO, you've just talked about looking at a new long-term partnership with the EU, including on security.
03:15Is this an acknowledgement that Britain's long-term security relationship with the United States is about to change?
03:22Well, let me say a number of things in response to that.
03:24Firstly, NATO is the single most effective military alliance the world has ever seen.
03:29And it has kept us safe for many decades and we are fully committed to NATO.
03:36Secondly, that whatever the pressure on me and others, whatever the noise, I'm going to act in the British national
03:46interest in all the decisions that I make.
03:48And that's why I've been absolutely clear that this is not our war and we're not going to get dragged
03:53into it.
03:54But I'm equally clear that when it comes to defence and security and our economic future, we have to have
04:00closer tries with Europe.
04:02That's why the main determinant now of the impact is going to be how long the conflict goes on and
04:10the question of how quickly we can get passage, safe passage through the straight-off and moves.
04:15And the two don't necessarily go together. In other words, I don't think it can necessarily be assumed that a
04:23de-escalation of conflict necessarily at the same time brings the full reopening of the straight-off and moves.
04:30And that's why we're moving to the next level of planning in relation to the straight-off and moves.
04:34We've been dealing with this for some time, but now we move to the next stage with the Foreign Secretary
04:39meeting coming up later this week.
04:41The first time we've convened that coalition, if you like, of countries to look at diplomatic means, political means, and
04:49then the military planners coming together at a separate meeting to look at capabilities.
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