Morgan says Starmer must stand up to Trump on Venezuela and Greenland

Wales’ first minister is urging Sir Keir Starmer to “stand up” to President Trump over both his actions in Venezuela and his designs on Greenland.

Eluned Morgan said “there comes a point when you have to stand up and be clear with your friends and say up to here and no further”.

Morgan said she understood there were “complexities and we need the United States” but added “if you don’t hold on to international law you lose your moral compass”.

She told BBC Radio Wales Breakfast that “breaking the rule of law” was “unacceptable” and stood by her comment that as “bad” as the Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro was, “one country does not get to run another country”.

Last week the US attacked Venezuela and captured Maduro, with Donald Trump vowing to “run the country” until there is a “proper” transition of power.

The first minister is currently visiting the Basque region in northern Spain.

The Spanish Prime Minister has accused Trump of breaking international law over Venezuela.

Trump has repeatedly said he wants to take Greenland because it is vital to US security, with the White House confirming all options are on the table, including the use of force.

Trump’s demands have been rejected by the island’s leaders and by Nato member Denmark, which controls Greenland as a semi-autonomous territory.

Starmer has said only Greenland and Denmark should decide its future and Downing Street has said the prime minister “set out his position on Greenland” in a phone call on Wednesday night with Trump”.

Speaking to Radio Wales on Thursday morning, Morgan said “I understand there complexities and we need the United States” but “I’ve got to be true to myself and my conscience”.

“There comes a point when you have to stand up and be clear with your friends and say ‘up to here and no further’, because if you’re not they just go on to the next thing, as you are seeing in relation to Greenland.”

The first minister also told the Dros Frecwast programme, on BBC Radio Cymru, that US intervention in Venezuela “crossed a line”, warning that it undermines the global order and creates serious risks for Europe.

“I think you have to stand up when a line is crossed with international law, and I think that has happened,” she said.

“I think there is a danger when you cross a line and go into another country, as Trump has done, and try to develop and run that country from the outside.”

“Of course, Maduro was not a good leader, I think there was a lot of corruption there.,” she added.

“But it is up to Venezuela to sort out the situation rather than the United States coming in.

“What is obvious is that they have an interest in getting their hands on the oil, and that, I think, undermines their case.”

Referring to wider concerns in Europe, Eluned Morgan said that a lack of a clear response now could lead to far more serious consequences in the future.

“That undermines the structure of the world and if we don’t come out clearly in condemning this it will be much harder for us to condemn it if Trump does anything in Greenland which, of course, is causing a lot of concern for us in Europe at the moment.

“If that were to happen it would be the end, I think, of Nato. The consequences would be serious.”

Morgan also responded to sharp criticism of UK government minister Jo Stevens, who was accused of being the most “anti-devolution” Labour Welsh secretary in half a century by a former Welsh government minister.

Labour Senedd member Lee Waters told a podcast that Stevens was not “somebody who believes in devolution particularly”.

The first minister said: “Lee’s leaving the Senedd, and clearly he’s got views, but I’m interested in looking to the future and making sure that what we do is we present the new generation of Labour Senedd members who are interested in building Wales.

“That’s why I’m here in the Basque Country, building the economy, making sure I’m meeting companies here who’ve got an interest in developing Wales.”

Gareth Lewis, BBC Wales political editor

Eluned Morgan is making not only her position on Venezuela clear, but is also clear about what she thinks the prime minister should do.

She goes further than she has before, with her comments about breaking international law.

Although the Welsh government has no say in foreign policy, she is nonetheless a senior figure in the Labour Party.

It will be interesting to see how much of the party she speaks for, and how her comments will go down.

On domestic issues she sidestepped the comments made by Lee Waters, but did not dispute them either.

The Senedd election is just four months away, Labour is struggling, and the relationship between Welsh Labour and UK Labour continues to be one of the big talking points.