Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch has said the UK is being “dragged into” the Iran war “whether we like it or not” after the nation fired missiles at joint UK-US base.
Badenoch argued Starmer can longer “sit on the fence” after the attempted strikes on Saturday morning, before criticising him for not backing the US to carry out further strikes.
Speaking on Times Radio, she said: “He’s basically sat on the fence, hoped it would go away, and then when the news looks like it’s negative, he pretends that he actually made a decision.
“We didn’t start this war. But if there is any war between the US and Iran, we should never be on the side of Iran. It’s a hostile country that tries to carry out terror plots on UK soil.
“Today we’re hearing that they’ve been firing missiles on Diego Garcia. The sad thing is, whether we like it or not, we’re being dragged into it and what we need is a prime minister who can think ahead.”
But when asked if she would back British planes taking part if she was prime minister she said she would not “have joined in the initial strikes” but would have expressed solidarity with the US like Canada and Australia.
Diego Garcia
Iran fired two ballistic missiles at Diego Garcia, the joint base on the Chagos Islands in the Indian Ocean, with one reportedly failing to take flight while the other was intercepted by a US warship.
The attempted strike occurred before the UK agreed to let the US use British military bases to hit Iranian misslie sites targeting the Strait of Hormuz.
On Friday, President Trump said the UK should have acted faster.
He said: “It’s been a very late response from the UK … a surprise because the relationship has been so good.
“They didn’t want us to use the [Chagos Islands] … I was a little surprised at the UK, they should have acted a lot faster.”
The UK previously gave the US permission to carry out airstrikes on Iranian missile sites targeting allies across the region.
The Ministry of Defence (MoD) also condemned “Iran’s reckless attacks”.
An MoD spokesperson said: “Iran’s reckless attacks, lashing out across the region and holding hostage the Strait of Hormuz, are a threat to British interests and British allies.
“RAF jets and other UK military assets are continuing to defend our people and personnel in the region.
“This Government has given permission to the US to use British bases for specific and limited defensive operations.”
Discussing Bahrain
Downing Street also said Starmer had spoken to the Crown Prince of Bahrain, Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa to discuss the war.
A spokesperson said: “The Prime Minister spoke to His Royal Highness, Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, this morning.
“The leaders began by discussing the situation on the ground, and the Prime Minister outlined the UK’s latest support for Bahrain, including deploying a team of experts to help counter drone attacks.
“Both condemned Iran’s ongoing attacks on critical national infrastructure and the Strait of Hormuz.
The Prime Minister updated on the US use of UK bases in the collective self-defence of the region, including to degrade the missile sites and capabilities being used to attack shipping.”
Starmer also welcomed Bahrain joining the growing list of signatories to a UK-led joint statement condemning Iran’s attacks and calling for de-escalation.
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