Boris Johnson says Europe should 'help America get out of the mess' in Iran

Britain and Europe should "help America get out of the mess" in Iran, according to former Prime Minister Boris Johnson. The ex-Tory leader said Europe should have helped the US escape a "trap" and reopen the Strait of Hormuz - a critical shipping route for oil supplies - in return for President Trump stepping up support for Ukraine.

Mr Johnson told La Repubblica's Antonello Guerrera: "We've all made a big mistake in Europe; as soon as it was clear that Trump had got into a trap in the Gulf, that there was a kind of checkmate in the Straits, we should have realised that Europe should try as much as possible, within reason, to help America and help America get out of the mess."

Mr Johnson said he did not "think it was sensible to try to attack Iran in the way that Israel and America did" but he argues Europe should have said: "Look, of course, NATO can help to try to get America out of this mess. But you should help us more in Ukraine."

He warned that "America now looks isolated" in its negotiations and the Iranians and Russians "can see this".

"We should have been there," Mr Johnson said. "The fact is, our team captain, Trump, has made a big mistake, right? And what does the team do? "Does the team tell the team captain, 'Go to hell, we have nothing to do with you?' Or does it try to help solve the problem?"

He added: "We accepted American help for wars which were fundamentally the Europeans' fault, and now, when America has stuffed up, we say, well, you know, 'Go to hell.' No. That's a great mistake."

However, the former PM criticised Mr Trump for warning that unless Iran agreed to a deal, "a whole civilisation will die".

He said: "This is against everything that I believe in, absolutely everything I believe in. I was very, very sad and shocked when I saw that. It's a disaster."

Mr Johnson took issue with European states for criticising Mr Trump's record on Ukraine but failing to support the embattled state with urgently needed cash.

He said: "I was in Ukraine very recently, and, you know, one thing that they really need is - they're going to run out of money. They need the funds, and we haven't provided them. It's a total disgrace."

When asked if he thought the US would pull out of NATO, he said: "I think the President is clearly thinking about some way of punishing NATO allies and all this sort of thing. I think it would be difficult for him to leave NATO without congressional approval.

"But yes, I think we shouldn't have let this happen."

Mr Johnson rejected the argument Brexit has damaged Britain, saying: "Starmer is such a useless, useless, useless Prime Minister that he is trying to blame absolutely everything for Labour's economic mistakes."

He also suggested Reform UK "has a slow puncture" and heaped praise on present Tory leader Kemi Badenoch, insisting she is "doing better and better".