David Cameron criticised over World War II history slip

David Cameron has been criticised after mistakenly saying the UK was the "junior partner" in the allied World War II fight against Germany in 1940.

He made the historical slip, neglecting the fact that the US had yet to enter the war, on the second day of his first trip to the US as prime minister.

Labour's David Miliband called it a "slight", while a veterans' group said it could "alienate" former troops.

No 10 said Mr Cameron had not meant to belittle the efforts of British troops.

Mr Cameron referred to the situation in 1940 during an interview with Sky News in which he was asked about the changing nature of the "special relationship" with the US and his meeting with President Obama on Tuesday.

'High regard'

"I think it is important in life to speak as it is and the fact is that we are a very effective partner of the US but we are the junior partner," he said.

"We were the junior partner in 1940 when we were fighting the Nazis."

However, the US officially declared war on Germany on 11 December 1941, shortly after Hitler launched hostilities against the US and four days after the Pearl Harbor attacks which drew the US into conflict with Japan.

The US had been supplying the UK with war materials for the previous nine months.

Asked about his remarks, No 10 said Mr Cameron had been referring to the "current relationship between the UK and the US".

"He holds the armed forces in a very high regard," a spokeswoman said.
'Stood alone'

Mr Miliband, the shadow foreign secretary, said the prime minister's comments had been misguided.
He said: "1940 was our finest hour. Millions of Britons stood up and gave their lives to defeat fascism.
"We were not a junior partner. We stood alone against the Nazis. How can a British prime minister who bangs on about British history get that so wrong? It is a slight, not a slip."

Terry Burton, president of the Association for Veterans of Foreign Wars, said Mr Cameron's comments were "rather inappropriate".
"It is going to alienate a lot of veterans. He should consider his words more carefully. The UK had been fighting the war a long time before Pearl Harbor," he said.

BBC political correspondent Vicki Young said the "pretty controversial comments" were a reflection of Mr Cameron's strategy to ease the fixation on the concept of the special relationship between the UK and US.

"He was trying to be realistic about Britain's position in the world, but it does seem to have backfired in this case," she said.

Before leaving Washington DC for New York, Mr Cameron laid a wreath at the US military's Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-10719739

I think this is more than just a slip. It's a slap in the face to British veterans and those (especially east Londoners) who suffered through The Blitz. What's more, although the article mentions that The US was supplying The UK with war materials, it doesn't mention that at the same time people like Henry Ford and the family of former Presidents Bush were actively supporting the Nazis and helped bring them to power.

Cameron promised us a "new kind of politics" but he is till fawning over the US like a lovesick puppy in the way that Blair did.

It isn't just the Blitz (and it wasn't just London that was bombed - Coventry Cathedral was destroyed and several other cities were damaged) but we also won The Battle of Britain while we stood alone.

I don't think it was a slight in the way that Miliband is pretending, it was just a very stupid thing to say in trying to impress a new friend. We don't need that Blairite crap any more, that was why we voted them out.

I personally think Cameron needs to come home and stop embarrassing Britain. He upset the Scottish with his comments on the freeing of the Lockerby bomber - he had no business making his private opinion public. Westminster withheld the right to represent Scotland overseas - therefore that's what he should blood well be doing. He had no right to make such a comment.

Then he comes out with this stuff about Britain being the junior partner in 1940. We weren't the tiny little nation people like to pretend - at the time we were the world's naval super power and we still had an empire - but we were alone. We could only be considered to have become the 'junior' partners by 1941 - and even then, not in the way that Cameron is suggesting. There are few things the British are allowed to be proud of these days, his disrespect and ignorance have really upset a lot of people. This is the last thing people would expect from a Tory leader.

Sounds like he's ruffled a few feathers. Then there's those over here who think we saved you guys.

TexasBlue wrote:Sounds like he's ruffled a few feathers. Then there's those over here who think we saved you guys.

Grrr. Let me at 'em!

Actually, when I was listening to a piece about this on the radio the other day (BBC) the presenter mentioned how whenever this subject comes up in a phone in they ALWAYS have a couple of Americans contacting the station to say 'Well we saved your arses in WWII!' At which point you pat them on the head, offer them a cookie and ask if their compatriots know that they've been phoning long distance again. You can also point out that that problem isn't the best attitude to adopt (and that there wouldn't have been a war to join if it hadn't been for us, hah!). Brits are touchy about the war. We haven't had much to celebrate since then

TexasBlue wrote:Sounds like he's ruffled a few feathers. Then there's those over here who think we saved you guys.

And unfortunately far too many who think that the US was the only country to stand against Hitler. And as we saw in the video clip, those who think that Churchill was your military leader at the time.

Actually, when I was listening to a piece about this on the radio the other day (BBC) the presenter mentioned how whenever this subject comes up in a phone in they ALWAYS have a couple of Americans contacting the station to say 'Well we saved your arses in WWII!' At which point you pat them on the head, offer them a cookie and ask if their compatriots know that they've been phoning long distance again. You can also point out that that problem isn't the best attitude to adopt (and that there wouldn't have been a war to join if it hadn't been for us, hah!). Brits are touchy about the war.

I think some people are just too grandstandish about it here. Even i know that it was a joint effort. You guys suffered badly before we got involved. Our contribution was a major one, imo, and helped you folks out immensely and also ended the war faster had we never been involved directly. But to say you people were on the sidelines while we kicked asses is insane. I've seen a few conservative nut cases here on these boards (not this one) say things like that.

We haven't had much to celebrate since then

That's because you people don't know how to smile!

The_Amber_Spyglass wrote:

TexasBlue wrote:Sounds like he's ruffled a few feathers. Then there's those over here who think we saved you guys.

And unfortunately far too many who think that the US was the only country to stand against Hitler. And as we saw in the video clip, those who think that Churchill was your military leader at the time.

Or that Germany bombed Pearl Harbor.

I'd hereby like to apologize for my country's past actions of aggression towards Britain the rest of the world.

TexasBlue wrote:I've seen a few conservative nut cases here on these boards (not this one) say things like that.

Grubber said precisely that.

Cameron has apologized for this today:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1300645/Cameron-apologises-saying-Britain-junior-partner-U-S-1940-pensioner-takes-task.html