Defence Secretary to visit Denmark as Trump maintains pressure over Greenland

Defence Secretary John Healey is travelling to Denmark as Donald Trump maintains his demand to seize control of Greenland.

Mr Healey will hold defence talks in Copenhagen with his Danish counterpart Troels Lund Poulsen as part of the visit.

Mr Trump has threatened to hit the UK and other European allies with 10% tariffs from February 1 unless they agree to his purchase of Greenland, a semi-autonomous Danish territory. He has not ruled out using military force to seize the island.

Denmark’s prime minister Mette Frederiksen has warned that any US military action against Greenland would spell the end of the Nato alliance, of which her country is a member.

Mr Healey and Mr Poulsen are expected to discuss Arctic security, counter-drone technology and Ukraine.

The Defence Secretary said: “In this new era of threat, now is the era of hard power, sure diplomacy and strong alliances. As joint expeditionary force partners and Nato allies, Denmark and the UK are stepping up on European security.

“The UK has always played a leading role in securing Nato’s northern flank in the Baltic and High North, and we will continue to do so alongside our allies.”

The US president launched an attack on the UK decision to cede sovereignty of the Chagos Islands on Tuesday.

He hit out at the deal to give the British Indian Ocean Territory to Mauritius, calling it “an act of great stupidity”, claiming the decision by a Nato ally to give away territory showed why he was right to pursue control of Greenland.

Mr Trump also fired off a flurry of posts on his Truth Social platform.

He posted a doctored image of European leaders in the Oval Office looking at a map on which Greenland, Canada and Venezuela were all covered in the US flag.

And he shared an image showing him, vice president JD Vance and secretary of state Marco Rubio raising the flag on Greenland next to a sign proclaiming it as “US territory est. 2026”.