Exclusive:UK risks emboldening hostile states like Russia by not striking Iran, Kemi Badenoch says
The UK risks emboldening Russia and other hostile states by not taking part in the offensive missile strikes on Iran, Kemi Badenoch has told The Yorkshire Post.
Speaking from Harrogate, where the Conservatives held their spring conference, Mrs Badenoch said: “I want a UK that other countries are afraid to attack, I don’t want a UK where other countries will try their luck in case one of their missiles gets through.”
The Tory leader has significantly diverged from the Government’s policy by calling for armed forces to join in the US and Israeli strikes on Iran.
Sir Keir Starmer meanwhile has urged Tehran, US President Donald Trump and Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu to get around the negotiating table.
“The long-standing British position is that the best way forward for the region, and the world, is a negotiated settlement with Iran where they give up their nuclear ambitions,” he said.
“That’s why I took the decision that the UK would not join the initial strikes on Iran by the US and Israel. That decision was deliberate, it was in the national interest and I stand by it.”
However, Mrs Badenoch believes this will merely embolden potential attacks on the UK.
She told this paper: “If we put ourselves out there as a country that won’t do anything to take out missile launchers when we’re attacked, we are sending a signal to places like Russia and elsewhere that we won’t do anything until it’s too late.
“Imagine if these were nuclear missiles, what would we be saying then? It would be too late for that.”
Former colonel Philip Ingram MBE, who served in the army for more than 26 years and commanded troops at Catterick Garrison, said any involvement in offensive action by the British military would be a “political statement”.
“The Americans and Israelis have got more than enough capability,” he explained.
“If they are the equivalent of huge forging hammers in steel factories, we would be adding a tiny little pin to add additional pressure.
“It’s not going to have an effect militarily on the ground to send our jets to drop bombs, but it does have an effect in providing that air defence support, that logistics support and providing security support to neighbours in the region.”
Mrs Badenoch responded to this by saying: “A lot of decisions in war are political because you are sending messages to political leaders in other countries, they are not just operational.”
She added: “I think the right thing to do is to make sure we protect our bases from attack.
“We have put bases in other people’s countries, it’s not fair not to do everything we can to protect them, just waiting for missiles to be launched before we catch them.”
Polling from Survation has shown that the public are sceptical towards the US and Israeli actions, and do not want to see further UK involvement.
Downing Street has steered away from suggestions that the British aircraft carrier, HMS Prince of Wales, is being readied to protect Britons in the Middle East.
Speculation the aircraft carrier could be sent to the eastern Mediterranean grew over the weekend, after reports it has been placed on advanced readiness.
Extra fighter jets and a warship, HMS Dragon, are already being sent to the region to bolster Britain’s forces, after drone attacks targeting UK bases.
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But No 10 poured cold water on suggestions the preparation of HMS Prince of Wales was linked to the conflict in the Middle East.
The Prime Minister’s official spokesman said: “HMS Prince of Wales has always been on very high readiness.
“The MoD (Ministry of Defence) is increasing the preparedness of the carrier, reducing the time it would take to set sail for any deployment, but there is no decision taken to deploy her.”
He had earlier told reporters: “We have obviously been bolstering our military presence in the Middle East since January.
“As I’ve set out here before, we have deployed significant offensive capabilities to protect British people and our allies in the region, and that includes Typhoons, F-35 jets, air defence systems, and an extra 400 personnel into Cyprus.”
The MoD has previously said HMS Prince of Wales would deploy as part of the UK’s carrier strike group of warships for a Nato operation in the so-called High North.
Nato troops began a joint drill in the Arctic on Monday, according to reports across the media.
Mr Trump had criticised the UK for its reluctance to join the US-led conflict in the Middle East, after reports that the HMS Prince of Wales could be sent to the region emerged.
Mr Trump said “we don’t need them any longer” and “we don’t need people that join wars after we’ve already won!”.
Elsewhere, French President Emmanuel Macron will board France’s aircraft carrier the Charles de Gaulle, which he deployed to the eastern Mediterranean last week, during a visit to the region.