Sir Keir Starmer has told MPs that the government “does not believe in regime change from the skies”, putting him at odds with President Trump over the joint US-Israeli strikes on Iran.
In his first statement to Parliament since the strikes, Sir Keir defended his decision not to permit the use of UK bases for the initial wave of attacks.
“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,” he told MPs.
However, the situation changed on Sunday when Iran’s “outrageous” response became “a threat to our people, our interests and our allies”, the PM said.
Iran’s retaliation to the US and Israeli attacks had threatened British people across the Middle East, prompting the decision to allow the bases to be used to hit Tehran’s missile infrastructure, he said.
He also cited a drone attack on RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus, which he said was “not being used by US bombers”.
On Saturday, the US and Israel struck Iran, killing the country’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Iran responded by launching missiles and drones across the region, targeting countries including Israel, Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia as well as ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz.
The US had sought the use of the Diego Garcia base in the Indian Ocean and RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire for those strikes but Sir Keir refused, telling MPs his decision was informed by history, saying “we all remember the mistakes of Iraq”.
The prime minister called those “offensive strikes”; but subsequently agreed for the use of British military bases for “defensive” strikes on Iranian missile sites.
Sir Keir told MPs: “To be clear, the use of British bases is limited to the agreed defensive purposes; we are not joining the US and Israeli offensive strikes.”
He added: “The lessons of history have taught us that it is important when we make decisions like this, that we establish there is a lawful basis for what the United Kingdom is doing.
“That is one of the lessons from Iraq, and that there’s a viable thought-through plan with an objective that can be achieved or has a viable prospect of being achieved.
“That is the principle that I applied to the decisions that I made over the weekend.”
He added: “This government does not believe in regime change from the skies.”
However, Sir Keir was criticised by Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch for “dither and delay”, and she urged him to stand fully behind the US.
She said: “On Saturday, our allies in Australia and Canada immediately backed the action of taken by America against this despotic regime in Tehran, and I have made it very clear that the Conservative party also stands behind America taking this necessary action against state-sponsored terror.”
Reform UK’s deputy leader Richard Tice said Iran had been “a permanent threat” to Britain and Trump’s strikes had “done the West a huge, huge favour”.
Accusing the prime minister of looking weak, he said: “Does he understand that actually, in refusing to support the US, he has humiliated us on the international stage.”
On the other hand, the prime minister’s decisions were criticised by parties on the left, including Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey, who said failing to stand up to Trump “makes our country less safe”.
He said: “We have seen before what happens when an American president launches an illegal war with no idea how or when it is going to end, and we fear for what comes next.”
Green foreign affairs spokeswoman Ellie Chowns condemned the “deeply irresponsible and illegal attack by the US and Israel on Iran”.
“The UK must stand unequivocally against this reckless action,” she said, calling for a parliamentary vote on “any UK involvement in this war”.
“We are not at war,” the prime minister responded, adding: “We are not getting involved in offensive action that the US and Israel are taking.”
Scotland’s First Minister John Swinney put out a statement criticising Sir Keir’s decision to allow the US to use military bases, which he said “creates further risks and dangers”.
Officials have urged Britons, including holidaymakers and business people, to register their presence in the Middle East with the UK government, with more than 100,000 having done so.
No evacuation of British citizens is imminent but the Foreign Office is making plans in case commercial flights remain grounded across the Gulf countries.
BBC
