Ditch 'unsightly windmills' and drill, Trump tells PM

Donald Trump has taken aim at Sir Keir Starmer's government just weeks after the two leaders appeared to put the "special relationship" back on track with a much-lauded trade deal.

- KATE DEVLIN

The US president hit out at one of the Labour leader's flagship strategies, on net zero, telling him to "stop with the costly and unsightly windmills” and instead forge ahead with more drilling for oil in the North Sea.

Mr Trump, who has been vocal in his opposition to wind turbines for many years, used a post on his social media platform Truth Social to say: “Our negotiated deal with the United Kingdom is working out well for all.

“I strongly recommend to them, however, that in order to get their Energy Costs down, they stop with the costly and unsightly windmills, and incentivize modernized drilling in the North Sea, where large amounts of oil lay waiting to be taken.”

Mr Trump, who owns a golf course in Aberdeenshire, added that there was a “century of drilling left, with Aberdeen as the hub”.

He also accused the UK’s “old-fashioned tax system” of acting as a disincentive to drilling, and said that if it were instead encouraged, “Energy Costs would go WAY DOWN, and fast!”