Differences between the UK and the US will be laid bare this week when the attorney general makes a staunch defence of the importance of upholding the rules-based world order for the sake of national security.
In a speech tomorrow, Richard Hermer will stress that there is “no inherent tension” between supporting international law and human rights “while at the same time believing that a strong military is an absolute necessity to protect us in a dangerous world”.
Days after Donald Trump accused Nato members of being “cowards” for refusing to send warships to defend the Strait of Hormuz, Hermer will reiterate the UK’s support for the transatlantic alliance.
“It was military strength and valour that defeated Nazism,” he will say. “And in the face of the threat currently posed by Russia, we remain firmly committed to Nato as part of the rules-based order.”
He will warn against abandoning the commitment to a global system on which Britain’s prosperity and security has depended since the second world war. “My support for international law is not simply based on principle. It is about what it delivers in practice for this country and our national interest,” he will say.
“Shared rules make Britain more prosperous, allowing us to trade with confidence. They make us more just by underpinning protections for our citizens. And they make us more secure by enabling cooperation with allies.”
Hermer’s defence of the rules-based world order will come when he delivers the Harry Street Lecture, hosted by Manchester University, which he attended.
“It is not despite being a human rights lawyer that I passionately believe in the strength and professionalism of our armed forces – it is because of it,” Hermer will say.
He will also argue that the European Convention on Human Rights, which has been criticised by the Conservative and Reform parties for undermining national identity and border security, has a very British history and was created by Winston Churchill to protect people against the misuse of state power.
Political allies said Hermer would “take aim at rightwing critics who argue the UK’s only approach to international law is to subcontract our position to bigger countries, as well as leftwing parties who cannot be trusted on defence and supporting Nato”.
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Although he will not mention Trump directly, his comments will be seen as a criticism of the US President, who has made no secret of his disdain for the rules-based world order and international institutions.
Trump has singled out Keir Starmer for criticism for failing to allow the US to use British airbases to launch pre-emptive strikes on Iran.
The prime minister told MPs that there was no legal basis for the offensive action, although he has since authorised the use of the British bases for defensive air strikes.
On Friday, he gave permission for RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire and Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean to launch strikes on Iranian missile sites targeting the Strait of Hormuz, insisting that this was part of an act of “collective self-defence”.
Trump has been dismissive of the UN and the international criminal court. In January, he issued an executive order withdrawing the US from dozens of international organisations and treaties “contrary to the interests of the United States”.
Hermer is one of Starmer’s closest allies and his comments will be seen as reflecting the prime minister’s views.