Theresa May pledges end to ‘failed’ military intervention that aimed to make countries more like UK as she addresses US law makers
PM also justified that Britain would stand up for its values when threatened - but comments could anger MPs keen on action against genocide in Syria
THERESA May has ripped up 20 years of foreign policy to declare an end to Britain’s “failed” wars of choice.
No longer will UK troops go abroad to help make countries democratic and more like ours, the PM declared.
Addressing US law makers in Philadelphia, Mrs May declared: “It is in our interests – those of Britain and America together – to stand strong together to defend our values
“This cannot mean a return to the failed policies of the past.
“The days of Britain and America intervening in sovereign countries in an attempt to remake the world in our own image are over.”
Instead, the PM spelled out a far more limited role for war fighting - only if it is for Britain’s own self-protection.
But if our direct interests are threatened, then we must still be prepared to stand tall and fight, she added.
Mrs May told the audience of US politicians: “Nor can we afford to stand idly by when the threat is real and when it is in our own interests to intervene.
“We must be strong, smart and hard-headed.
“And we must demonstrate the resolve necessary to stand up for our interests.”
Laying down the gauntlet, Mrs May also called out China alongside Russia as two powers to be wary of, saying both have “grown more assertive in world affairs”.
In language that will upset Beijing, she branded both “countries with little tradition of democracy, liberty and human rights”.
The PM’s startling declaration came in the PM’s first big foreign policy speech since taking power six months ago, to lay out her vision of post-Brexit Britain’s relationship with the world.
Mrs May delivered it in the east coast US city hours after Mrs May began her first visit to America as Prime Minister.
It signals a major departure from the 'liberal interventionism' ethos that has dominated British foreign policy since the Kosovo mission in 1998.
Branding the thinking of her three predecessors as “failed" is a direct slap down to David Cameron for his fight in Libya, as well as Tony Blair and Gordon Brown for Iraq and Afghanistan.
Mrs May’s change of course will spark intense debate.
It realigns Britain closer to new US president Donald Trump, who has rejected the long occupations of the War on Terror.
But it also risks angering some Tory and Labour MPs who have called for intervention in Syria to save it from genocide.
Mrs May also used the address to Republican Congressmen and Senators at a retreat to issue a full frontal plea to Donald Trump not to withdraw from the world.
The PM called on him to stand up to his "obligation" as US president and join her as they “recommit ourselves to the responsibility of leadership in the modern world”.
And she mounted a passionate defence of the UN and NATO, promising Mr Trump she would help him make them “more relevant and purposeful”.
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Tackling fears that the world is about to see “the eclipse of the West” with the Far East’s rapid growth, Mrs May hit back to say: “There is nothing inevitable about that.
Mrs May also reminded Mr Trump that the US and Britain “made the modern world”.
The new president has vowed to put “America first”, called NATO “obsolete” and wants the US to do less around the world.
But Mrs May told the Congressmen and Senators that she and Mr Trump “have the opportunity to lead, together, again”.
And saying she is ready to set the example, Mrs May will add: “The United Kingdom is by instinct and history a great, global nation that recognises its responsibilities to the world.
“As we rediscover our confidence together – as you renew your nation just as we renew ours – we have the opportunity – indeed the responsibility – to renew the Special Relationship for this new age.”
She was the first serving foreign leader to address the prestigious Republican gathering, three hours after President Trump also did.