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Keir Starmer has dismissed allegations that he is shifting his focus towards the left-wing faction of his party rather than addressing the escalating tensions in the Middle East, following criticisms of his “weak” response to Iran’s recent military actions.
The Prime Minister emphasized that his primary concern is ensuring the safety of British citizens in the region. This statement comes in the wake of Iran’s “indiscriminate” retaliatory strikes against its neighboring countries.
In response to US and Israeli military operations over the weekend, Iran has unleashed a series of missile and drone attacks targeting Cyprus, Kuwait, Qatar, Iraq, the UAE, and Bahrain.
Addressing Parliament on Monday afternoon, Sir Keir defended his initial decision to prevent the United States from using UK bases for their strikes. He provided an update on the situation and explained his subsequent approval for US use of British bases to target Iranian missile facilities, aiming to support and protect Gulf allies.
The Prime Minister faced significant pressure from left-wing MPs during the House of Commons session, with calls to ensure Britain does not become further entangled in the Middle Eastern conflict.
During the exchanges in the House of Commons, the PM came under repeated pressure from Left-wing MPs to not allow Britain to be dragged further into the conflict.
A slew of backbenchers, including many from his own party, called on Sir Keir to ‘learn the lessons’ of past Western intervention in the Middle East, such as in Iraq.
He also faced demands to grant the Commons a vote on UK military involvement, as US President Donald Trump’s ‘illegal’ actions were denounced by a number of MPs.
Keir Starmer tonight denied a charge he’s ‘looking to the Left of his own party as much as looking to the Middle East’ in his ‘weak’ response to the Iran strikes
Ellie Chowns, the leader of the Greens in the Commons, branded Donald Trump as ‘a clearly unstable loose cannon
Zarah Sultana, a co-founder of Your Party, asked the PM: ‘How much does he enjoy being Donald Trump’s poodle?’
The US and Israeli strikes on Iran came shortly after Sir Keir was hit by a fresh political crisis with Labour’s dismal defeat to the Green Party in the Gorton and Denton by-election.
But, speaking in the Commons on Monday, Sir Keir angrily denied an accusation by Tory MP Mark Pritchard that he was ‘fretting about his own backbenchers’ and ‘looking to the Left of his own party as much as looking to the Middle East’.
Mr Pritchard told the PM of his response the Iran strikes: ‘It is not his finest hour, he is looking very weak and that is not in the national interest.’
Sir Keir responded: ‘I have been absolutely focused only on British nationals this weekend, that has been the total focus of my attention.’
Senior Labour MP Emily Thornberry, the chair of the Commons foreign affairs committee, was among those to denounce Mr Trump’s ‘ill-advised, ill-judged and illegal’ strikes against Iran.
A number of other MPs urged the PM to remember recent history as he responds to the crisis.
John McDonnell, the former Labour shadow chancellor, said: ‘From Iraq to Afghanistan to Libya, I think many of us know the way this go.
He added: ‘It’s easy for politicians to start the war and fire the weapons, it’s when the shooting ends that the nightmare begins.
‘That’s why we need clarity on our role as a country, an independent country, not necessarily swayed even by Donald Trump.
Mr McDonnell also told the PM: ‘When he stood for the leadership of the Labour Party, he very clearly set out there would be a vote in this House on any decision about military action.
‘Can I ask him to assure us, so we don’t drift into this war as we have in the past, that there will be a vote in this House>’
Sir Keir replied: ‘On the question he raises about a vote, that is of course a vote on offensive action deploying our troops or military and that is not this situation.’
Imran Hussain, the Labour MP for Bradford East, urged Sir Keir to show ‘Britain is not Trump’s poodle and never again will we be a launchpad for illegal and endless wars that have no plan and no end’.
Richard Burgon, the Labour MP for Leeds East, said: ‘This is an extremely dangerous moment – Iraq, Afghanistan and Libya show where this can end up.’
He added: ‘Shouldn’t the Government’s focus be on pushing Trump, Israel and Iran towards diplomacy, de-escalation and a ceasefire?
‘Instead, by siding with Trump, hasn’t the PM risked dragging us into a wider conflict that leaves us all less safe?’
The PM responded: ‘My focus has been on the protection of British nationals in the region.’
Ellie Chowns, the leader of the Greens in the Commons, said her MPs ‘condemn the deeply irresponsible and illegal attack by the US and Israel on Iran, launched in the middle of nuclear negotiations led by Trump, a clearly unstable loose cannon, and [Israeli PM Benjamin] Netanyahu, a war criminal’.
‘The UK must stand unequivocally against this reckless action,’ she added: ‘Will he commit to a vote in this House on any UK involvement in this war?’
The PM told Ms Chowns: ‘We are not at war and we are not getting involved in offensive action that the US and Israel are taking.’
Jeremy Corbyn, the former Labour leader who has since founded Your Party, asked Sir Keir if the UK was ‘sharing information with the US to further their war aims against Iran?’.
He added: ‘Or could we not, instead, adopt a stance of trying to bring about an immediate ceasefire in order to prevent further dreadful loss of life across every country in the whole region and the danger of this escalating into a semi-global conflict?’
Zarah Sultana, a co-founder of Your Party, asked the PM: ‘Is the genocide of the Palestinian people not enough for this Labour Government?
‘Is he proud to be another Labour PM obediently following Washington into yet another illegal war in the Middle East making us all less safe? How much does he enjoy being Donald Trump’s poodle?’
Sir Keir replied: ‘My first duty is to protect British nationals, it’s the most important duty I have and I will continue to discharge it.’
Earlier on Monday, Green leader Zack Polanski – who is not an MP – demanded Sir Keir withdraw permission for the US to use British bases to strike Iranian missile sites.
He said the PM was allowing the UK to be ‘dragged into another illegal war in the Middle East’.
‘Starmer must withdraw permission for the US to use UK bases to launch airstrikes on Iran and Parliament must be given a vote on any UK involvement,’ he added.
He also claimed the PM ‘will do anything Donald Trump wants – and it makes us all less safe’.
Green Party leader Zack Polanski poses for a selfie outside Parliament on Monday with new MP Hannah Spencer, who won last week’s Gorton and Denton by-election
An aircraft leaves RAF Akrotiri, a British sovereign base in Cyprus, which was hit by an unmanned drone
Late on Sunday, Sir Keir Starmer said he had agreed to an American request to use UK bases to protect British nationals and allies in the Middle East.
It is not clear which UK bases will be used, but Mr Trump has previously referred to asking to use Diego Garcia, one of the Chagos Islands in the Indian Ocean.
The US President has also suggested America could use RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire, which can handle US heavy bombers.
Sir Keir’s decision followed a day of conversations with regional leaders, during which it is understood they asked the UK to do more to protect them from Iranian missiles.
The PM insisted the decision was fully in line with international law, and the Government has published a summary of its legal position setting out that it is acting in ‘collective self-defence’.
The UK will also continue to carry out the defensive operations that have already seen British forces shoot down Iranian drones threatening northern Iraq and Qatar.
In his criticism of Sir Keir’s action, Mr Polanski pointed to Sir Keir’s past promise – made during his Labour leadership campaign in 2020 – of ‘no more illegal wars’.
At the time, Sir Keir vowed to introduce a ‘Prevention of Military Intervention Act’ and to put ‘human rights at the heart of foreign policy’.
Mr Polanski said: ‘Keir Starmer of a few years ago wouldn’t have supported this war.’
A missile launched from Iran is pictured in the sky from the Bureij camp for Palestinian refugees in the central Gaza Strip
Mr Polanski claimed Sir Keir was allowing the UK to be ‘dragged into another illegal war in the Middle East’
The Green leader also pointed to Sir Keir’s past promise – made during his Labour leadership campaign in 2020 – of ‘no more illegal wars’
It came after the Green leader faced a backlash for his comments in a TV interview on Sunday morning, in which he accused Mr Trump of operating in ‘the law of the jungle’ as he hit out at America’s ‘illegal and unprovoked’ strikes on Iran.
The self-described ‘eco-populist’ led Left-wing fury at the US and Israeli attacks, which have killed Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Mr Polanski claimed ‘international law is eroding before our very eyes’ and said there was ‘no example in history where you’ve bombed people to democracy’.
He added it was ‘absolutely outrageous’ that Sir Keir had condemned Iran for its action, but not ‘Israel and America that started the bombing in the first place’.
The Green leader, who has branded the US and Israel as ‘rogue states’, urged the PM to ‘get out on TV and condemn these illegal and unprovoked strikes’.
Mr Polanski also claimed the UK should ‘disentangle’ itself from decades of military co-operation with the US.
Senior Tory MP Dame Priti Patel, the shadow foreign secretary, said Mr Polanski’s ‘wacky posturing’ was ‘reckless and a threat to our national security’.
Meanwhile, questions were asked about Green deputy leader Mothin Ali’s attendance at a ‘Stop The War’ protest in London on Saturday.
The demonstration in Parliament Square saw activists brandish placards showing a portrait of Khamenei, while others flew the tricolour flag of the Iranian regime featuring the emblem of the Islamic Republic of Iran.
Dame Priti said: ‘The Greens are once again proving they are not a responsible or serious political party.
‘After courting sectarian votes in Gorton and Denton, Polanski is now sowing further division by echoing rhetoric that undermines Britain’s national interest and pits communities against each other.
‘At a time when our national security and that of our allies is at stake, this kind of wacky posturing is reckless and a threat to our national security.
‘The Conservatives make no apology for supporting decisive action against Iran where it is necessary to protect our national security and uphold stability in the region.’
Labour MP David Taylor said: ‘How dare this absolute charlatan claim to be listening to and speaking up for the Iranian people, whilst doing anything but.
‘It was a shame he wasn’t asked why his deputy leader (Mr Ali) was present at a march where pro-regime chants, placards and flags were seen.’
Explaining why he attended Saturday’s protest, Mr Ali said: ‘I’m proudly anti-war. And to be anti-war that means looking to explore all possible diplomatic solutions.
‘The US and Israel took a unilateral decision in the midst of negotiations to kill the Iranian leader, and opted for war. This is deplorable.
‘I have always stood with ordinary people all over the world and that extends to the Iranian people and their quest for freedom.
‘But you can’t bomb a democracy into existence, the US and its proxies should have learned that lesson by now.’
