Sir Keir Starmer says he will not be 'hanging on to Trump’s words' amid criticism from the President
Sir Keir has brushed off suggestions that Donald Trump’s personal attacks against him will damage the “special relationship”, and indicated it would have been lawful for the UK to allow the first US missiles to strike Iran.
Mr Trump lashed out at Sir Keir over his initial refusal to allow British bases to be used for raids against Iran, saying “this is not Winston Churchill that we’re dealing with”.
But Sir Keir said “hanging on to President Trump’s latest words is not the special relationship in action”, indicating that military and intelligence co-operation with the US was continuing.
And he defended his decision not to allow the US to use British bases in the opening assault against the Tehran regime, suggesting it could have been unlawful and lacked a “viable, thought-through plan”.
He told MPs today that the “the whole country is worried about the potential for escalation” in the Middle East, and “we need to act, therefore, with clarity, with purpose, and with a cool head”.
The UK’s airbases, including Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean and RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire, were initially denied to the US for their strikes against the Iranian regime.
Sir Keir said: “What I was not prepared to do on Saturday was for the UK to join a war unless I was satisfied there was a lawful basis and a viable, thought-through plan. That remains my position.”
In response to Iran’s retaliatory actions, Sir Keir has given the US permission to use British bases for the limited purpose of attacking missile launchers and infrastructure, but RAF jets have not been involved in striking Iran.
At Prime Minister’s Questions, Tory leader Kemi Badenoch asked why the RAF had not taken “offensive action” to destroy Iranian missile sites after British bases in Bahrain and Cyprus had been attacked.
Sir Keir told her: “The protection of UK nationals is our number one priority. We’re taking action to reduce the threat with planes in the sky in the region intercepting incoming strikes, deploying more capability to Cyprus, and allowing US planes to use UK bases to take out Iran’s capability to strike.”
Western officials said that US bombers had not yet used Diego Garcia or Fairford but that the UK was ready to accept them and that they were expected to arrive within the next few days.
The Prime Minister’s efforts to build a strong personal relationship with Mr Trump have been severely damaged by the Iran crisis, with the president singling him out for attacks in the media.
The Government has also been criticised for failing to have enough military assets in the Middle East region after RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus was hit by a drone.
Air defence destroyer HMS Dragon will be sent to the eastern Mediterranean to help protect Cyprus, but the Type 45 warship is not expected to sail until next week.
Sir Keir said Wildcat helicopters with anti-drone capabilities would be on the Mediterranean island this week.
And he insisted action had been taken in response to rising tensions in the region before the war broke out.
“Radar systems were pre-deployed, ground-based air defence was pre-deployed, counter-drone systems were pre-deployed and F-35 jets were pre-deployed,” he said.
Meanwhile, Lord West of Spithead, a former chief of service, said the Royal Navy is at its “most parlous state in the 60 years I’ve been on the active list”. He added that it is “too small” and has “not been looked after properly”.
Sir Keir also faced questions about defence spending, with the Institute for Fiscal Studies saying the Government would either have to hike taxes or cut investment to hit 3 per cent by the end of the Parliament.
The Prime Minister has pledged that this will reach 2.6 per cent of gross domestic product in 2027.