Only "special relationship" U.S. has is "probably Israel," U.K. ambassador said

Britain's Ambassador to the U.S., Sir Christian Turner, said in February, before the U.S. and Israel launched their joint war with Iran, that to him it seemed the "only country" to have a "special relationship" with the United States was "probably Israel." Turner made the remarks to a group of British high-school age students visiting the U.S. A recording of the comments was obtained by the Financial Times and reported by the newspaper on Tuesday. Turner also told the students he considered it "extraordinary" that the scandal over the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein had "brought down a senior member of the royal family [ Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor ], a British ambassador to Washington [ Peter Mandelson ], potentially the prime minister [ Keir Starmer ], and yet here in the U.S., it really hasn't touched anybody." Turner said that he didn't like the term "special relationship," coined by Prime Minister Winston Churchill in the wake of World War II, to describe the U.S.-U.K. bond, calling it "quite nostalgic" and "backwards-looking," according to the FT. "I think there is probably one country that has a special relationship with the United States," he said, "and that is probably Israel." CBS News has not reviewed the audio of his remarks, but the British government has not denied their authenticity. In a statement to CBS News, the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office said Turner's remarks were "private, informal comments made to a group of U.K. …