UK ambassador says only special relationship US has is 'probably' with Israel

Britain's ambassador to the United States has said America's only "special relationship" is "probably Israel" and not Britain.

Sir Christian Turner's remarks, made in February at an event with British students visiting Washington, were reported on Tuesday by the Financial Times, on the second day of King Charles' visit to the US this week.

The remarks may come as a significant embarrassment to the British government, particularly since UK-US ties are strained over Britain's initial reluctance to be drawn into the US-Israeli war on Iran.

Turner said during a question-and-answer session with students that the phrase "special relationship", often used to describe UK-US ties, was "quite nostalgic, it’s quite backwards looking, and it has a lot of baggage about it".

He added: "I think there is probably one country that has a special relationship with the United States – and that is probably Israel."

Read more: UK ambassador says only special relationship US has is 'probably' with Israel