Is the UK demanding decades of rent from the US if it leaves NATO?

Published on 23/03/2026 - 13:57 GMT+1

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer has told President Donald Trump to retreat each US forces from British bases wrong 48 hours if helium chooses to permission NATO, according to a wide shared screenshot which has been shared crossed societal media successful caller weeks.

The picture, posted connected X, shows the transcript of an alleged connection made by Starmer, successful which helium declares that the UK and the remainder of Europe volition proceed to set unneurotic successful its corporate defence careless of whether the US quits the alliance.

He allegedly adds that the UK would request decades of backdated rent from the US for stationing its troops connected British territory for free.

There are respective issues with this expected code which beryllium that it's fake.

First, contempt a caller barrage of insults that Trump has hurled astatine Starmer for giving constricted enactment of the US successful the Iran war, the premier minister's effect has been much measured than this substance suggests.

Trump said connected 17 March that helium was "disappointed" with Starmer implicit his archetypal refusal to nonstop craft carriers to the Middle East, accusing him of making a mistake and saying that helium was "no Winston Churchill", successful notation to the UK's celebrated wartime leader.

However, pursuing the president's tirade, each reputable reporting has stated that Starmer has stressed the value of the US-UK relationship, assured the UK volition enactment retired of the warfare isolated from measures specified arsenic providing the US entree to its bases adjacent the region, and that London is moving with each its allies to bring stableness successful the Middle East.

The code and connection utilized successful the fake code are highly uncharacteristic of Starmer's accustomed diplomatic approach.

One of the main accounts sharing it has since deleted its station connected X.

Do NATO countries wage each different rent?

The different contented with the substance is that it misrepresents NATO's communal defence and cost-sharing policies.

Contrary to what the fake code claims, the modular NATO argumentation is that the visiting state doesn't wage rent to the big state erstwhile stationing subject unit determination — instead, they screen the operational costs of the facilities they use.

This is underpinned by the 1951 NATO Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA),which says that the receiving state indispensable supply the sending state with the facilities they need, connected presumption nary little favourable than for the big country's military.

So, arsenic the UK Ministry of Defence wouldn't wage rent to the UK authorities for its ain bases and, for example, the US wouldn't request to either.

It besides says that subordinate states waive claims against each different for immoderate harm to spot utilized for NATO purposes.

Additionally, a UK-US Cost Sharing Agreement from 1973 outlines that the UK Ministry of Defence maintains ownership of immoderate bases utilized by the US, and that Washington would beryllium liable for operational and enlargement costs only.

While the statement is decades old, it's been confirmed successful caller treaties and documents crossed the confederation that NATO countries bash not wage rent to presumption their subject successful chap members.

For example, a parliamentary briefing published successful the UK successful March 2026 reinforced NATO's cost-sharing arrangements; Poland and the US's 2019 Enhanced Defence Cooperation Agreement underlined that Warsaw volition supply the US subject with facilities rent-free; and upon joining NATO successful 2023, Finland signed its ain Defence Cooperation Agreement with the US, which explicitly states it supplements the SOFA.