Whether it’s over Iran, Huawei or trade, the British government has to stand up to Trump

Editorial: The unreliability of the US with the current president in the White House is all the more reason why Boris Johnson should not bend the knee

Ben Wallace, the defence secretary, has admitted that the prospect of the United States pursuing an isolationist foreign policy keeps him awake at night.

Many other people will be kept awake by the prospect of Donald Trump pursuing an interventionist policy abroad. Indeed, the world held its breath last week after the assassination of Qassem Soleimani, as it awaited Iran’s response and America’s response to that response. Fortunately, wise heads in Tehran and Washington prevailed. The immediate flashpoint seems to have passed, even though huge underlying tensions remain.

Mr Wallace’s candour in acknowledging that the UK cannot rely on the US being alongside it in future large-scale military operations is welcome. He told The Sunday Times: “The assumptions of 2010 that we were always going to be part of a US coalition on everything, is really just not where we are going to be.” He cited Mr Trump’s decision to withdraw US forces from Syria and his call for Nato to do more in the Middle East.

Although diplomatic niceties prevent UK ministers from saying so publicly, they would be right to assume that the unpredictable Mr Trump is an unreliable ally. That raises big questions about the level of UK defence spending.

Mr Wallace’s departmental budget is already under pressure and its overspending on procurement is in Downing Street’s crosshairs. So perhaps he was rehearsing his opening lines about being less reliant on the US, as the government launches the biggest review of defence, security and foreign policy since the end of the Cold War.

The unreliability of the US with Mr Trump in the White House is all the more reason why Boris Johnson should not bend the knee to the US president when the government decides whether to allow the Chinese company Huawei to develop the UK’s 5G mobile phone network.

US officials will be in London today (13 January) to urge their British counterparts to deny Huawei a role on the grounds it could leave the UK at risk of espionage and sabotage by China.

In the same interview, Mr Wallace admitted that Mr Trump, his administration and advisers had threatened to cut the UK out of some intelligence if it gives Huawei the go-ahead. In other words, Britain’s role as a member of the “five eyes” intelligence partnership with the US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand would be in jeopardy.

Of course, Mr Johnson and his national security council should take account of such implications when they make their long-awaited decision shortly. But they should not be bounced by Mr Trump’s threats into doing what he wants. His partnership with the UK appears to be a one-sided one, on his terms; unusually, the UK government was not forewarned about the killing of General Soleimani.

Mr Johnson can expect similar threats from the US president when talks on a UK-US trade deal get under way. It would hardly be a surprise if Mr Trump threatened to kill off an agreement unless American agri-food products were allowed into the UK, even though ministers insist they have no intention of allowing chlorine-washed chicken or hormone-injected beef on to the UK market. Nor is it a stretch of the imagination to think that, during a future military intervention in the Middle East or elsewhere, the president might link his demand for UK support to the prospects of a trade agreement.

Despite the threats from Washington on Huawei, it seems that UK officials believe the Chinese firm could be allowed a limited role in providing 5G without compromising national security. Whatever the government decision, it must be taken in the UK’s national interest, not Mr Trump’s.