Trump warns UK to stop illegal immigration and drill for oil or face bankruptcy
President Trump stated that the UK must stop illegal immigration and drill for oil or risk becoming bankrupt, according to GB News.
The Full Story
A plain summary built from the channels that reported this story.
President Donald Trump has warned that the United Kingdom must stop illegal immigration and start drilling for oil in the North Sea or risk becoming a bankrupt country. The comments were made during an interview in the Oval Office with GB News assistant editor Will Mayrick.
Trump said the UK is sitting on one of the best energy fields in the world but is failing to exploit it. He claimed the country buys energy from Norway, which extracts oil from the same North Sea reserves. "You're sitting on top of gold, better than gold. And you don't do anything with it," he said. Trump added that he had spoken to Prime Minister Keir Starmer and was impressed, but warned that the UK must choose between being wealthy or bankrupt.
The president also linked the issue to illegal immigration, saying Europe must stop it. He described immigration and energy as the two things killing Europe.
In response, political commentators on GB News debated the accuracy of Trump's remarks. One panelist argued that Trump may have misunderstood Starmer, noting that 90% of British oil fields have already been bled dry. Another said Trump was applying pressure on Starmer to issue new drilling licences, which would break the Labour Party's manifesto commitment not to grant new licences.
The discussion also touched on the threat by BP to leave the North Sea due to high taxation and legislation. Separately, the programme reported that Nigel Farage had reached out to Rupert Lowe, leader of the Restore Britain party, about a possible electoral pact.
On screen
Stills are sampled automatically at 60-second intervals. Where shown, the still is the nearest available frame from the relevant broadcast segment and is included to show what was on screen during that part of the broadcast. A still may not correspond to the exact second of a quoted phrase.
Key Claims
Claims reported during this story's coverage, mapped by channel. Ordered by how many channels carried each claim.
| Claim | GB News |
|---|---|
| BP threatened to leave the North Sea due to taxation and legislation. | |
| Nigel Farage reached out to Restore Britain leader Rupert Lowe about a possible electoral pact. | |
| Trump said the UK is bankrupt and must stop illegal immigration and drill for oil. |
Channel Perspectives
What each channel focused on, with key quotes.
GB News presented the story as breaking news with a dramatic tone, emphasising Trump's blunt language and the domestic political fallout. The panel discussion focused on whether Trump had misread Starmer and the implications for Labour's manifesto. The channel also linked the story to a separate development about a potential electoral pact between Nigel Farage and Rupert Lowe.
- “Donald Trump there being blistering once again, saying it's time to stop illegal immigration, which is killing the United Kingdom. And it's time to drill, baby, drill. Otherwise, you'll be a bankrupt country. Really putting the boot into Britain there.”
- “I think that Donald Trump misunderstood Keir Starmer, which wouldn't be for the first time he's misunderstood a British Prime Minister.”
- “Well, I mean, what that would mean is breaking the manifesto if you're gonna start issuing new licences.”
Broadcast Timeline
News broadcasts tracked for this story, in time order.