It is now clear Sir Keir Starmer misled the public about the Mandelson affair and that our Prime Minister routinely lies to get himself out of a hole.
Instead of addressing that scandal honestly, he is attempting another trick: change the subject. His ‘Look over there, the Tories want to go to war with Iran!’ schtick is a convenient distraction. It is, as we have come to expect from Starmer, also entirely untrue.
My position on Iran has been consistent from the beginning.
Unlike the Prime Minister, I do not decide matters of national security based on polling or the headlines of the day. I start from first principles.
Our foreign policy must always be in our national interest. Britain stands with her allies when they confront hostile regimes. And Britain has a duty to defend the servicemen and women we place in harm’s way.
Those principles are not theoretical. Iran’s regime has brutalised its own people, funded terrorist groups across the Middle East, and repeatedly threatened Britain itself.
Our security services have disrupted dozens of Iranian plots on British soil. When our allies confront that threat militarily, I’m clear we shouldn’t have joined in – I remain concerned that there isn’t a clear plan behind the strikes – but Britain should also not be neutral.
From the start I was clear about what those principles mean in practice. I said Britain should allow our allies to use our bases.
Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch has written for the Daily Mail that Keir Starmer has a ‘fantasy’ belief that Britain is ‘merely an observer’ in the Middle East conflict
Many people do not realise the extent to which the United States and Israel protect British citizens at home and abroad by sharing intelligence with us, defending our interests and supporting British forces across the world.
If they are confronting a regime that threatens us all, the very least Britain can do is let them use our bases – a position Keir Starmer was dragged to eventually.
But there is another principle that matters even more: the duty to defend our own people. Britain has put bases and personnel in places like Bahrain and Cyprus and those countries expect us to stand with them in difficult moments.
When those bases are attacked, the British government has a simple responsibility: protect the men and women serving there properly.
I’ve spoken to military experts who are clear that when it comes to the proper defence of our people and those allies who provide a home for British bases, it is far better to strike the missile and drone launch sites at source, rather than intercept them after they’ve been launched.
This is where the real difference between me and the Prime Minister becomes clear. Keir Starmer wants to believe Britain is merely an observer in this conflict. That is fantasy.
British aircraft are flying missions across the region. Our bases in Cyprus and Bahrain have already been targeted. Just last week, a drone strike hit a British base in Iraq. Our forces are already at risk. We should do everything we possibly can to protect them.
That is why the Prime Minister’s attempt to misrepresent my position is so revealing. He wants the public to believe that anyone willing to defend Britain’s interests is somehow reckless. The truth is the opposite.
Pretending we are not involved in a conflict when our bases are under attack shows Keir Starmer is shamefully reckless and it is a convenient denial.
At a moment when the Prime Minister is facing serious questions about his own honesty over the Mandelson affair, he would clearly prefer to talk about anything else. Misrepresenting my position on Iran allows him to distract from his scandal and frighten people about his political opponents.
The difference between us is simple. I start with principles. Britain stands by its allies. Britain defends the servicemen and women it sends into danger to our maximal not minimal ability.
My principles may mean taking difficult decisions, but I do not change them depending on the opinion polls or the political weather.
Across the United Kingdom, britons want to see a stronger country. When our allies face a hostile regime and when British forces come under attack, we should not hesitate or hide behind legalistic excuses.
We should do what serious countries do: act in our national interest, stand by our allies and show we have the muscle to defend our people.
