Sir Keir Starmer has defiantly hit back at Donald Trump and defended his decision not to allow British military bases to be used by the US for the first wave of strikes against Iran, telling the Commons: “I stand by my decision.”
The prime minister granted permission on Sunday for the US to use UK bases to target Iran’s missile launchers and stores to help protect countries targeted by Tehran, but the US president said he was “very disappointed” with Sir Keir over his initial refusal to allow the US to use the UK-US Diego Garcia base on the Chagos Islands as part of the operation. He added that it “took far too long” for the prime minister to change his mind.
In a statement to the Commons, Sir Keir said he stood by his decision and warned that his party had “learnt the lessons of Iraq”, remembering Tony Blair’s decision in 2003 to support another US president in invading a Middle East state.
Sir Keir said: “President Trump has expressed his disagreement with our decision not to get involved in the initial strikes, but it is my duty to judge what is in Britain’s national interest. That is what I’ve done, and I stand by it.”
Later he added: “How we operate on the world stage matters so much. We all remember the mistakes of Iraq and we have learned those lessons. Any UK actions must always have a lawful basis.”
The statement came as President Trump warned that the “biggest wave” of attacks on Iran was yet to come as the war in the Middle East rapidly escalated.
An Iranian drone attack on the Akrotiri RAF base in Cyprus on Sunday night came after the prime minister had given the US permission to use UK bases for defensive operations. But it was held up as an example of the “indiscriminate” way Iran was retaliating. Sir Keir said the attack on Akrotiri had been initiated before he gave the US permission to use RAF bases for defensive actions, and pointed out that the bases in Cyprus would not be used by the Americans because they were not suitable.
He went on: “It is clear that Iran’s outrageous response has become a threat to our people, our interests and our allies, and it cannot be ignored.” But he insisted: “We are not at war and we are not getting involved in the offensive action the US and others are taking.”
Around 300,000 Britons are believed to be in countries targeted by Iran, with 102,000 registering their presence with the Foreign Office, whose staff are working on contingency plans, including a possible mass evacuation.
The prime minister’s statement was welcomed by Labour MPs who insisted that he must respect international law, but the Tories joined Reform UK in warning that the prime minister needed to say whose side he is on.
The Conservative leader, Kemi Badenoch, said: “Unbelievably in his statement today, the prime minister still cannot say whether he backs the strikes or not. Today, the president of the United States has taken the extraordinary step of rebuking the prime minister publicly, saying he took far too long to grant access.”
On the issue of international law, she said: “International law didn’t prevent our allies from clearly and unequivocally stating whose side they were on. You don’t need international law to say whose side you’re on. It has not prevented British governments in the past from supporting strikes which we knew to be right. Why is it that, under this prime minister, international law always seems to be at odds with our national interest?”
But Labour foreign affairs committee chair Emily Thornberry said: “Although the attack on Iran by the US and Israel was ill-advised, ill-judged and illegal, it is absolutely no excuse for the Iranians to recklessly bombard its Gulf neighbours. I’d like to ask the prime minister, is he in a position to give us more details on what we’re doing with our Ukrainian friends to support the collective self-defence of Arab nations against the Iranian Shahed drones that are causing so much damage in Ukraine and now in the Gulf.”
Sir Keir replied: “Ukraine, sadly, has more expertise than anyone in dealing with drones, and that’s why we’re putting their expertise and our expertise together and using it to help our allies in the region.”
Mother of the House, the veteran Labour MP Diane Abbott, warned that “the shadow of Iraq” hung over the decision. A number of MPs also pressed Sir Keir to ensure that the UK would not enter the war without a vote in the House.
