Mr Vance’s barbs were possibly aimed at Sadiq Khan, the Labour Mayor of London, who has called Trump a racist, a sexist and a homophobe.
In 2019, Trump shared a message which said the capital had become “Londonistan” under Mr Khan, who he has called a “stone-cold loser”.
In May, Republican lawmakers warned of a “massive Muslim takeover” in the UK.
“You’ve got a massive Muslim takeover on the United Kingdom going on right before our eyes,” Chip Roy, a Texas Republican, said on the House floor.
“The United Kingdom has radical Islamists taking political office all over the country,” Colorado congressman Lauren Boebert added on X.
‘He’s said quite a lot of fruity things’
Angela Rayner, the Deputy Prime Minister, said she “doesn’t recognise” Mr Vance’s characterisation of the UK under a Labour Government, which would work with any US president or vice-president.
Ms Rayner told ITV’s Good Morning Britain: “I think he’s said quite a lot of fruity things in the past as well.
“We won votes across all different communities, across the whole of the country. And we’re interested in governing on behalf of Britain and also working with our international allies,” she said.
James Murray, a Treasury minister, has said he does not know what Mr Vance was “driving at” when he described the UK as an “Islamist country”.
Baroness Sayeeda Warsi, the first Muslim to serve in a British cabinet and a conservative, said Mr Vance’s comments represented “the everyday Islamophobia and anti-Muslim racism which is casually thrown around by some of the most powerful in our societies”.
“I think it’s actually quite offensive, frankly, to my colleagues in the Labour Party,” Andrew Bowie, the Tory shadow veterans minister, said.
Sir Keir Starmer spoke to Trump on Sunday and wished him a swift recovery as Labour scrabble to cement a stronger relationship with the Republicans.
David Lammy, the Foreign Secretary, recently described Mr Vance as a “friend” in a speech he gave in the US in May after the two men met when Labour was still in opposition.