Keir Starmer has defied brutal rebukes from Donald Trump insisting the UK is ‘not involved’ with Iran strikes.
The PM made his latest attempt to wash his hands of the US president’s military campaign in a speech to Muslims breaking Ramadan fast last night.
Sir Keir – who has been desperately trying to shore up Labour’s left flank since the Greens inflicted an humiliating by-election defeat – also talked up his determination to get ‘justice’ for Gaza.
The comments came after Mr Trump fuelled alarm about the state of the Special Relationship by condemning the premier as ‘no Churchill’.
The president was incensed by Sir Keir’s initial refusal to let the US use UK bases for the joint attacks with Israel.
That was later partially walked back by the PM under huge pressure, with ‘defensive’ actions permitted. There had been warnings that the US could simply use the bases anyway and dare Britain to stop them.
Keir Starmer made his latest attempt to wash his hands of the US president’s military campaign in a speech to Muslims breaking Ramadan fast last night
The comments came after Donald Trump fuelled alarm about the state of the Special Relationship by condemning the premier as ‘no Churchill’
Sir Keir is also facing a huge backlash for failing to protect Britain’s base on Cyprus, which was hit by a suicide drone thought to have been fired by Tehran’s proxies late on Sunday night.
Embarrassingly, military minnow Greece will have warships in position to protect RAF Akrotiri days before the Royal Navy will be anywhere near the danger zone.
Emmanuel Macron has ordered a French frigate to the region, in a move that seemingly finally stung Sir Keir into action yesterday.
Type 45 destroyer HMS Dragon is now being sent to Cyprus – but will not arrive for several days – along with helicopters that have counter-drone capabilities.
Speaking at the Iftar – an event to mark breaking the Ramadan fast – in Westminster Hall last night, Sir Keir said: ‘The war in the Middle East did not begin last week… in Gaza most of all, we must not lose sight of them and the need for peace, justice and security in Palestine and Israel.’
He added: ‘On Iran, I want to make clear the UK was not involved in the offensive strikes of the US and Israel, and that remains the case.’
Sir Keir stressed he opposed the Iraq war in 2003 and the UK needed to ‘learn the lessons’. But he said the ‘indiscriminate’ response from Iran had shifted the balance towards allowing bases to be used.
‘What we’re now doing is allowing our bases to be used for the defensive purposes of preventing those attacks and protecting innocent lives, because that is what we need to do to support our Middle Eastern allies who have asked us for support,’ he said.
Mr Trump said last night: ‘I’m not happy with the UK. This is not Winston Churchill that we’re dealing with.
‘Spain has been very, very uncooperative and so has the UK. The second one is shocking but this is not the age of Churchill.
‘The UK has been very, very uncooperative with that stupid island [Chagos]. That they gave away and took a 100-year lease… what’s that all about?’
His remarks will put fresh pressure on Sir Keir to abandon his controversial deal to hand the Chagos Islands, a British territory in the Indian Ocean, to China ally Mauritius, then lease back the crucial military base on Diego Garcia for £35billion.
But Downing Street said: ‘The work on Diego Garcia and the deal continues – we have been very clear about its value as a military asset to both the UK and the US, and that position hasn’t changed.’
No10 also claimed the US and UK remained ‘staunch allies’.
Type 45 destroyer HMS Dragon is now being sent to Cyprus – but will not arrive for several days – along with helicopters that have counter-drone capabilities
Questions have been asked as to why a British ship was not deployed to the Middle East sooner, given America had publicly been moving its arsenal into position for some time.
Former head of the Royal Navy, Admiral Lord West, said ‘Nelson will be spinning in his grave’ over Britain’s response and the state of the senior service, which has scarcely any active ships or submarines to send to a crisis anywhere in the world.
Shadow Armed Forces minister Mark Francois said: ‘Britannia once ‘ruled the waves’ rather than being tied up in port.
‘Why, given the US build-up has already been under way for weeks, are we only just sending one now? Why didn’t we dispatch one to the Med a fortnight ago?
‘It’s like Nelson turning up to Trafalgar a week late.’
