In a speech given on September 11 Mr . Cameron said , " Britain does not need to establish her identity by recklessly poking the United States in the eye , as some like to do . But we will serve neither our own , nor America '' s , nor the world '' s interests if we are seen as America '' s unconditional associate in every endeavor . Our duty is to our own citizens , and to our own conception of what is right for the world . " And then the sentence that got him the most attention , " We should be solid but not slavish in our friendship with America . "