JD Vance denies disrespecting UK over ‘random country’ remarks | BBC News

UK opposition politicians have accused US vice-president JD Vance of disrespecting British forces after he said a US stake in Ukraine's economy was a "better security guarantee than 20,000 troops from some random country that hasn't fought a war in 30 or 40 years".

More than 150,000 British personnel served in Afghanistan alongside US troops, with France also sending forces to the country. The UK was also part of a US-led invasion of Iraq.

Vance has since insisted he did not "even mention the UK or France", adding that both had "fought bravely alongside the US over the last 20 years, and beyond".