The US defence secretary has heaped praise on British troops in an apparent effort to ease anger following outrage over JD Vance’s comments suggesting the UK had not fought a war in 40 years. Pete Hegseth welcomed his British counterpart John Healey to the Pentagon on Thursday for talks and took the chance to commend “tough” British troops and underline the “long-standing” US-UK relationship.

Mr Hegseth, a National Guard veteran, referenced his time deployed to Afghanistan with his “brothers across the Atlantic”. “Our nations, as you know, share a long and special relationship, stronger today than ever before,” he said as the meeting got underway. “I experienced that first-hand myself, as many of our generation has, on the battlefield shoulder-to-shoulder with British troops in Afghanistan.

“I know how capable they are, how tough they are and how close our bond is as brothers across the Atlantic, full stop.

“We are grateful for all the many years we have stood by each other’s side.”

Earlier this week, US Vice President Vance came under fire from veterans after saying a potential peacekeeping force in Ukraine would be “20,000 troops from some random country that has not fought a war in 30 or 40 years”.

His comments sparked fury, with British veterans branding him a “clown”.

Both the UK and France – long-term allies of the US – have promised to lead a peacekeeping mission.

Mr Vance later said he was not referring to either country but to other, unnamed nations.

Mr Hegseth’s charm offensive also saw him express his gratitude to the British public.

He said: “I also want to thank the British people for the warm support they give to US forces stationed in the UK as well, it’s a long-standing relationship we are truly grateful for,” he said as the meeting got underway.

“You are true allies, long-time friends, we are new friends but we are getting there [gesturing at Healey], and fellow warriors, so thank you very much for being here.”

Mr Healey is in the US as part of efforts to bridge the transatlantic gap on Ukraine’s peace plan.

He told Mr Hegseth the US has “challenged Europe to step up”, adding: “We have, we are and we will further.”

Before meeting his American counterpart, Mr Healey was in Washington DC to visit the firm that’s producing kamikaze drones that the UK is giving to Ukraine.