Foreign Secretary David Lammy has dismissed his previous criticism of Donald Trump as a “neo-Nazi sympathising sociopath” and “narcissistic” as “old news”.
While a backbencher in 2019, ahead of Trump’s state visit to the UK, Mr Lammy posted on social media that Trump was "deluded, dishonest, xenophobic, narcissistic" and "no friend of Britain".
He also called Trump “a woman-hating, neo-Nazi-sympathising sociopath” in 2018 in Time magazine.
But he sought to brush off criticism of those comments, saying it was “old news” and that most politicians had said “some pretty ripe” things about Trump in the past.
He told the BBC’s Newscast podcast: “I think that what you say as a backbencher and what you do wearing the real duty of public office are two different things.
"And I am foreign secretary. There are things I know now that I didn't know back then."
Mr Lammy said the comments did “not even vaguely” arise when he had dinner with Trump in New York in September, adding that the US president-elect was “someone that we can build a relationship with in our national interest".
He told the podcast that the Government will seek to persuade Trump that harming the UK by hiking tariffs is not in his interest amid fears of a looming trade war.
Trump has said he wants to increase tariffs on goods imported from around the world by 10%, rising to 60% on items from China - which could raise prices and hit the UK economy.
Mr Lammy said he would seek to "get across" to the United States that "hurting your closest allies" is not in Mr Trump's interest.
He was asked if the UK would seek a special trade arrangement with the US so no extra tariffs are imposed on UK imports into the US.
"We will seek to ensure and to get across to the United States - and I believe that they would understand this - that hurting your closest allies cannot be in your medium or long-term interests, whatever the pursuit of public policy in relation to some of the problems posed by China," he said.
The Foreign Secretary said he had "felt in his bones" there could be another Trump presidency and was "quite impressed" by the Trump campaign when he met the campaign team earlier this year.
But he said a state visit in the next year would be "a bit of a tall order" as they take time to organise.
Sir Keir Starmer said it was "good to speak" with Mr Trump in a phone call on Wednesday evening in which the Prime Minister congratulated him on his "historic victory".
"From defence and security to growth and prosperity, the relationship between the UK and US is incredibly strong and will continue to thrive for many years to come," the Prime Minister posted on X.
