Obama: 'The time for our leadership is now'

Barak Obama has said British and American values mean the two allies remain "indispensible" to the world.

In a speech to MPs and peers in Westminster Hall this afternoon the President said the rise of other powers should not mean the two nations should surrender global leadership.

He said: "In a world which will only grow smaller the example of our two nations is that it is possible for people to be united by their ideals rather than divided than their differences"

"Unlike most countries we do not define citizenship based on race or ethnicity.

"Being American or British is not about belonging to a certain group. It is about believing in a certain set of ideals.

The President added: "The time for our leadership is now. It was the US and UK and democratic allies that shaped a world in which new nations could emerge"

He said both Britain and America "know what it is to confront evil in the world".

"Hitler's armies would not have stopped their killing had we not fought them on the beaches and on the landing grounds, in the fields and on the streets," he said.

"We must never forget there was nothing inevitable about our victory in that terrible war."

He added: "Precisely because we are willing to bare its burden we know well the cost of war."

"If we failed to meet that responsibility who would take our place and what kind of world would we pass on?"

President Obama said the quality that made the US and UK "indispensible to this moment in history" was recognition that "our patchwork heritage is an enormous strength".

He said: "We must always remember the true source of our influence hasn’t been the size of our economies or the reach of our militaries or the land that we've claimed, it has been the values we must never waver in defending around the world".

Obama became the first US President to speak in the ancient hall that forms part of the Palace of Westminster, an honour usually reserved for British monarchs.

"I have known few greater honours than the opportunity to address the mother of parliaments at Westminster Hall," he told the audience.

He added: "I am told that the last three speakers here have been the Pope, the Queen and Nelson Mandela. Which is either a very high bar, or a the beginning of a very funny joke."

The president joked that while there had been a few bumps along the way such as the British army setting fire to the White House, the relationship between the tow countries remained strong.

"Centuries ago when king's, emperors and warlords reigned over much of the world, it was the English who first set out the rights and liberties of man in the Magna Carta," he said.

"What began on this island would inspire millions on the content of Europe and across the world.

"There are few nations that stand firmer, speak louder and fight harder to defend democratic values around the world than the United States and the United Kingdom.

"We are the allies who landed at Omaha and Gold, who sacrificed side by side to free a continent from the march of tyranny and helped prosperity flourish from the ruins of war."

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