A minister has hit out at Donald Trump’s defence secretary Pete Hegseth after he used a D-Day commemoration to attack Nato countries and accuse them of failing to tackle illegal immigration.
Justice minister Jake Richards said he was “horrified” by the comments, which were “totally inappropriate and wrong” for the occasion, adding “I hope he regrets it ”.
Speaking in Normandy during a ceremony to commemorate the 82nd anniversary of the Allied landings, which saw US and Allied forces liberate Western Europe from Nazi occupation, Mr Hegseth claimed Europe currently faces an “invasion of dangerous ideologies” arriving by sea.
Mr Richards told LBC radio: “I’m actually horrified that someone – at a moment that we’re there to remember those heroes who fell for all of us to enjoy the freedoms that we do today – launch some sort of political argument about illegal migration.
“Of course, illegal migration, the small boats crisis, is one of the biggest issues that come up in my constituency. It’s one that this government has to get a grip of over the next few years.
“But when we’re discussing D-Day and the history of those heroes, that’s not the moment for politics, it’s not the moment for those types of arguments, and I wish he hadn’t made them. I don’t think that was an appropriate remark and I hope he regrets it too.”
Former UK defence secretary Ben Wallace also hit out at Mr Hegseth. He told The Independent that he and US vice president JD Vance “would do well to not believe everything they read on X and to read the inspiring D-Day speech by Ronald Reagan on the 40th Anniversary.”
At the Normandy American Cemetery in Colleville-sur-Mer, Mr Hegseth said: “Sadly, today, different European beaches are stormed by different, dangerous ideologies. Beaches in Spain, Italy, Greece and Bulgaria, boats and men arrive.”
He challenged European leaders asking: “When will European capitals do something about that invasion or is it too late? I pray not, and I believe not.”
His comments echo those of President Trump and Mr Vance, who have consistently attacked European countries for their approach to immigration.
A US National Security Strategy document issued last year even warned that Europe faced “civilisational erasure” and must “course-correct” to remain a reliable ally to the US.
It is not the first time the Trump adminstration has been accused of outrageous attacks on Nato allies.
Mr Trump has previously been accused of “insulting” the UK and other Nato members by claiming it would not come to America’s aid – despite British soldiers fighting alongside the US in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Last year the US President suggested he would not defend Nato countries that did not meet military spending targets, saying: “I think it’s common sense, right? If they don’t pay, I’m not going to defend them.”
He added that his “biggest problem” with Nato was whether they would defend the US if called to do so.
Vice President Vance was also condemned for disrespecting British veterans after he appeared to describe the UK as “some random country that hasn’t fought a war in 30 or 40 years”.
D-Day marked the beginning of the end of the Second World War. The operation, on 6 June 1944, was the largest amphibious invasion in military history. Almost 133,000 troops from the United States, the British Commonwealth, and their allies landed on D-Day.
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