Theresa May rebukes Donald Trump at UN for his threat to pull out of Paris climate change deal

Theresa May issued a thinly veiled rebuke to Donald Trump for threatening to pull out of Paris Climate accord last night.

In the speech the Prime Minister also threatened to withhold tens of millions of pounds from the United Nations' budget until it reforms the way it is run and can demonstrate better value for money.

The comments came moments before Mrs May met with Mr Trump at a summit on the margins of the UN general assembly in New York. 

Mr Trump announced in June that America was withdrawing from the Paris deal, arguing that it disadvantaged businesses and would impoverish the US.

The US president said he would “begin negotiations to re-enter either the Paris accord or a really entirely new transaction on terms that are fair to the United States”.

But in her speech to world leaders at the United Nations, Mrs May singled out the Paris deal as an  example of how  countries can work together to promote "fairness, justice and human rights".

She said it was "the fundamental values that we share – values of fairness, justice and human rights –that have created the common cause between nations to act together in our shared interest and form the multilateral system. 

"And it is this rules based system which we have developed – including the institutions, the international frameworks of free and fair trade; agreements such as the Paris Climate Change accord; and laws and conventions like the Non-Proliferation Treaty – which enables the global co-operation through which we can protect those values."

Mrs May added that it was important that "nations honour their responsibilities and play their part in upholding and renewing a rules-based international order that can deliver prosperity and security for us all".

Later Mrs May also took aim at Syria and North Korea, accusing them of "deliberately flouting – for their own gain - the rules and standards that have secured our collective prosperity and security".

Mrs May, who is expected back in London on Thursday morning, also said that Britain would start to fund the UN based on its results.

She said: "The UN and its agencies must win our trust by proving to us and the people we represent that they can deliver. 

"That is why we will remain generous in our funding but set aside 30% to be paid only to those parts of the UN that achieve sufficient results."

Britain annually gives £90million to fund the core operations of the UN which means that around £30million could be held back by London every year.

Examples included bringing together different UN bodies under one roof in countries to save money and being more open about the UN's expenditure.

Separately Mr Trump said he has made a decision on the future of the 2015 Iran nuclear deal after he was attacked by Iran's president Hassan Rouhani as an ignorant ingénue who spoke with “ignorant, absurd and hateful rhetoric”.

Mr Trump will announce his decision on the agreement to curb Iran’s nuclear program in return for removing some economic sanctions on October 15. 

On Tuesday Mr Trump used his maiden address to the UN general assembly to single out Iran as “a corrupt dictatorship behind the false guise of a democracy,” adding that their “chief exports are violence, bloodshed and chaos.”

Yesterday Mr Rouhani shot back, telling the UN general assembly: “The ignorant, absurd and hateful rhetoric, filled with ridiculously baseless allegations, that was uttered before this august body yesterday, was not only unfit to be heard at the United Nations - which was established to promote peace and respect between nations - but indeed contradicted the demands of our nations from this world body to bring governments together to combat war and terror,” said Mr Rouhani.

“We never threaten anyone; but we do not tolerate threats from anyone. Our discourse is one of dignity and respect, and we are unmoved by threats and intimidation."