Kemi Badenoch has sharply criticized Sir Keir Starmer, accusing him of grandstanding on international issues concerning the Middle East conflict while neglecting the pressing need to bolster the United Kingdom’s defense capabilities.
In a pointed critique, the Tory leader described the Prime Minister as “all mouth and no trousers” regarding defense policy. This comment followed Starmer’s diplomatic visit to the Gulf region, where he did not contribute to ongoing ceasefire negotiations between the United States and Iran.
Badenoch highlighted that Sir Keir has yet to release a much-anticipated Defence Investment Plan, suggesting it remains unpublished due to a lack of strategy for funding his ambitious goal to increase defense spending to 3 percent of GDP by the next parliamentary term.
Meanwhile, during his visit to Saudi Arabia, Sir Keir maintained that the UK’s diplomatic initiatives were instrumental in addressing the ongoing crisis.
Mrs. Badenoch voiced her concerns by stating, “In a time marked by conflict both in Europe and the Middle East, affecting families across Britain, the government’s position on the global stage is uncertain. Our leadership lacks a comprehensive strategy.”
‘There’s no plan for how the Government is going to actually buy the equipment, weapons and munitions. There’s no plan for how to enact the SDR [Strategic Defence Review]. There’s no plan for rearming Britain.
‘We haven’t seen the Defence Investment Plan because they have no idea how they are going to pay for it. Keir Starmer is all mouth and no trousers when it comes to defence.’
She will tell the upcoming London Defence Conference that a future Conservative government would reinstate the two-child benefit cap, which Labour has lifted, to fund increased defence spending.
Sir Keir Starmer met service personnel at Taif air base in Saudi Arabia on Wednesday
If they return to power the Tories would also take £17billion from Ed Miliband’s ‘vanity’ green projects to create a Sovereign Defence Fund.
But Mrs Badenoch will warn that rearming Britain cannot wait until after the election, and will call on the PM to ‘put party interests aside’ and find the money needed now.
‘No blank cheques of support. But I can pledge that if we reach agreement on a joint plan, Conservatives will support those measures in Parliament on a three line whip.’
Defence Minister Luke Pollard responded: ‘When Badenoch’s Tories were last in power, they hollowed out and underfunded our Armed Forces, leaving our brave service men and women exposed. Badenoch should start with an apology for the mess they left behind, instead of taking pot shots.’
However there is still no sign of the Defence Investment Plan, first promised last autumn, amid claims that the Treasury is holding up its publication.
It is unlikely to appear in the next month because of restrictions on Government announcements in the purdah period before May’s elections.
And even Labour MP Tan Dhesi, who chairs the Defence Select Committee, warned: ‘The lack of a public plan now runs the risk of undermining the UK’s ability to play a full and leading role in Nato.’
The row came as Sir Keir – who met UK troops at King Fahd Air Base in Taif, Saudi Arabia – said the UK was working to make the fragile truce permanent and reopen the vital Strait of Hormuz to shipping.
The Prime Minister arrived in Jeddah after a ceasefire was announced between the US and Iran
‘We’ve been convening a number of countries. I now get the opportunity, here in Saudi Arabia and countries nearby in the region, to have these discussions, to co-ordinate our actions and to go forward collectively in pursuit of those two missions,’ the PM told broadcasters on Wednesday.
Asked if his relationship with Donald Trump was ‘in tatters’, after the US President repeatedly insulted the UK’s lack of support for his attacks on Iran, Sir Keir insisted: ‘I’ve acted as you would expect of a British Prime Minister, which is by being absolutely focused on what is our national interest, and that’s why I’ve applied my principles and my values throughout.’
Reform UK leader Nigel Farage predicted Sir Keir’s trip would go badly, saying: ‘He’s upset the Americans, he’s upset the Cypriots, he’s upset the Gulf states, and this level of indecision and chopping and changing your mind is quite extraordinary.’
And Tory peer Lord Kempsell said: ‘Starmer has immediately flown to the Middle East to emphasise his crucial role in the US-Iran ceasefire, which he didn’t broker, didn’t know was coming, didn’t participate in shaping and had absolutely no part in whatsoever.’
