Kemi Badenoch will accuse Labour of “playing student politics” while “the rest of the world rearms,” renewing her criticism of the UK Government’s Iran war response.
She will suggest Sir Keir Starmer is being “held hostage” by his party and “too scared of upsetting certain sections of Labour’s target voters” to act in the national interest.
Mrs Badenoch has called for the government to authorise RAF strikes on Iran’s missile launch sites, a possibility Foreign Secretary David Lammy suggested on Friday.
In a speech on Saturday, she will say “allies feel they can no longer rely on us” after the extraordinary criticism unleashed by US President Donald Trump in recent days over Britain’s refusal to allow initial US strikes on Iran from UK bases.
Sir Keir has defended his decision not to permit America 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 granted permission on Sunday for the US to use RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire and Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean to strike defensively against Iranian missile sites as the conflict spirals.
In her speech, Mrs Badenoch is expected to say: “I never thought I would see the day when Britain’s allies felt that they could not rely on us.”
The government has 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.
Mrs Badenoch will say Sir Keir is still “sitting on the fence” over what Britain’s role in the war should be, adding: “We are in this war whether Keir Stamer likes it or not. It’s time to act.”
She is expected to link the issue to domestic politics, claiming that Labour’s loss to the Greens in the previously rock-solid parliamentary seat of Gorton and Denton last month had “spooked” the party.
“They watched the Greens campaigning on sectarian voting lines, a tactic Labour used for many years turned against them,” Mrs Badenoch will say.
“Now Starmer is too scared of upsetting certain sections of Labour’s target voters to act in our national interest.”
She is expected to add: “He’s not even strong enough to win a contest with his own backbenchers. He is a political hostage.
“Held at the behest of a load of half-rate left-wing MPs, none of whom grasp the seriousness of the world that Britain is now in.
“While the rest of the world rearms, they are playing student politics.”
It comes after a row erupted over Mrs Badenoch’s suggestion that the UK military had been “just hanging around” and not taking the necessary action in the Middle East.
Asked whether she supported firing on Iranian missile bases, she told BBC Breakfast on Friday: “What else are our jets doing, just hanging around there?
“They need to be able to see who is attacking us and stop them from firing at British soldiers or even British people in hotels.”
Defence Secretary John Healey said the remark “insults the men and women of our armed forces” and that she should apologise.
Recent polling suggests that the most common view among the British public is that the UK’s stance in the conflict should be purely defensive.
Almost half – 46 per cent – of people in a survey by YouGov between Wednesday and Thursday said this position came closest to their view of what orders the UK military should be given.
However, most – 52 per cent – also believe that Sir Keir is handling the UK’s relationship with Mr Trump badly, the data suggests, and 47 per cent feel the same about his management of Britain’s response to the war.
Responding to Mrs Badenoch’s words, armed forces minister Al Carns said political point-scoring off the back of a serious security situation was “deeply irresponsible”.
“This situation is above politics and requires calm collective decision-making – not hyperbole and soundbites,” he said.
“British troops are doing an amazing job and no one should be questioning their commitment or competency.
“Serious times require serious politics, not political point-scoring on the back of our Armed Forces, civil service or MoD personnel who are doing an amazing job.”
