Keir Starmer has told MPs that “hanging on to President Trump’s last words is not a special relationship” following criticism of his stance on the conflict with Iran.
A day after Donald Trump dismissed Starmer as “no Winston Churchill”, angry that the US was denied the use of British bases for the initial attacks, the Prime Minister’s handling of the UK’s response to the conflict came under fire from Kemi Badenoch, the opposition leader, under Prime Minister’s Questions.
In response, Starmer told MPs: “What I was not prepared to do on Saturday was for the UK to join a war unless it was convinced that there was a legal basis and a workable well-thought-out plan.”
Badenoch said it had been left to the United States to destroy Iranian bases believed to have launched drones at an RAF base in Cyprus, telling parliament: “Our bases have already been attacked. Iran is trying to kill our military men and women. They are catching arrows instead of stopping the archer.”
When Badenoch pressed the Labor leader on why additional defense spending had not been released, he went on the offensive, saying that getting British citizens to safety was most people’s priority.
The first charter flight to evacuate British citizens from the Middle East was due to leave Oman at 11pm local time (7pm GMT), with two more flights in the coming days, Starmer said.
More than 1,000 British citizens returned to the UK on Tuesday against the backdrop of continued US and Israeli attacks on Iran and Iranian attacks on states in the region, it added.
Another eight commercial flights will leave the United Arab Emirates today for the United Kingdom., The parliamentarians were told.
Starmer said British military deployments had been underway for several weeks, in contact with the United States, and told MPs that British forces were operating to protect American lives.
“American planes are operating from British bases,” he said. “That’s the special relationship in action. British aircraft are shooting down drones and missiles to protect American lives in the Middle East at our joint bases. That’s the special relationship in action. Sharing intelligence every day to keep our people safe. That’s the special relationship in action. Holding on to President Trump’s last words is not the special relationship.”
British military assets deployed included radar systems, ground-based air defenses and anti-drone systems, as well as fighter aircraft.
“Since Saturday morning, several F-35s and Typhoons have been in operation, not only in the Middle East but throughout Cyprus,” Starmer added. “More missions were flown during the night, Typhoons defending Qatar in particular and F-35s defending other regional matches.”
Savage helicopters with anti-drone capabilities would be in Cyprus this week and HMS Dragon, a warship that has not yet left Portsmouth, would be deployed to the Mediterranean.
A suspected Iranian drone attacked the British Akrotiri base overnight on Sunday, causing no casualties and “minimal damage”, according to the Ministry of Defence.
Two more drones heading to Akrotiri were intercepted on Monday, the Cypriot government said. There was also an alert on Wednesday morning.
