A close ally of Sir Keir Starmer will tonight defend the UK’s adherence to ‘international law’ in what may be seen as a tacit rebuke of Donald Trump.
Attorney General Lord Hermer will defend playing by the rules as in the UK national interest tonight in the wake of a deepening transatlantic right between London and Washington.
The peer and Cabinet minister is expected to say there is no contradiction in believing in ‘international law and human rights’ alongside a strong military, as the US prepares to commit what the UN says could be war crimes in Iran.
Trump warned Tehran on Saturday it had 48 hours to allow cargo through the vital global shipping lane ‘without threat’ or he would ‘obliterate’ their power plants.
The Islamist regime hit back yesterday saying if its plants were targeted then energy infrastructure ‘across the entire region’ would be ‘irreversibly destroyed’.
Hermer’s address in Manchester will also include a robust defence of Nato in the wake of persistent criticism of the defensive alliance by Trump and his administration.
They have hit out at member states for refusing to join the US-Israeli offensive action against Iran, and the amount they spend on defence.
It could also be seen as a shot fired across the bow of people like the Green leader Zack Polanski, who has advocated for the UK withdrawing from the alliance, something Hermer will say is ‘reckless’.
Attorney General Lord Hermer will defend playing by the rules as in the UK national interest against a backdrop of declining US interest in upholding them
Trump warned Tehran on Saturday it had 48 hours to allow cargo through the vital global shipping lane ‘without threat’ or he would ‘obliterate’ their power plants – a potential war crime
It also comes after the UK eased its restrictions on the missions carried out by US forces based in Britain to allow them to strike Iranian targets throttling traffic through the Straits of Hormuz.
‘There is no inherent tension in passionately believing in international law and human rights, while at the same time believing that a strong military is an absolute necessity to protect us in a dangerous world,’ Lord Hermer is expected to say in the speech at his alma mater, Manchester University.
‘It was military strength and valour that defeated Nazism. And the idea that in the face of the threat currently posed by Russia we should be leaving the Nato alliance is utterly reckless.
‘So, it is not despite being a human rights lawyer that I passionately believe in the strength and professionalism of our armed forces — it is because of it.’
Last night Trump made yet another attack on Britain and other Nato allies for refusing to help the US with its floundering war against Iran.
‘They are not doing anything. It’s too bad,’ he told News Israel in an interview about the Strait and whether Iran would cave to his ultimatum.
‘You’ll find out what’s gonna happen. You’re gonna find out soon. It’s gonna be very good. Total decimation of Iran. It’s gonna work out very good’.
He added: ‘They’ve [Iran] been very bad for 47 years. Now they’re getting their comeuppance’.
UN secretary general António Guterres has warned both sides that such attacks on energy infrastructure may ‘constitute a war crime’.
Allies said Lord Hermer is also expected to take aim at the Tories and Reform over their support for leaving the European Convention on Human Rights.
