Starmer to face MPs after Trump claimed he was ‘no Churchill’ in Iran row
The US president said Sir Keir was ‘not Winston Churchill’ in his latest rebuke of the Prime Minister.
Sir Keir Starmer will face questions in the Commons over his decisions on the unfolding Iran conflict, after Donald Trump unleashed fresh criticism at the Prime Minister.
The US president said Sir Keir was “not Winston Churchill” in his latest rebuke of the Prime Minister, who did not allow American planes to launch their initial strikes against Tehran from British bases.
On Tuesday, the Prime Minister meanwhile announced Britain would send HMS Dragon, one of the Royal Navy’s six Type 45 air defence destroyers, to defend Cyprus after RAF Akrotiri was hit by a drone.
The war between Iran and the USA, now in its fifth day, will likely dominate the agenda when Sir Keir enters the Commons at noon on Wednesday for Prime Minister’s Questions.
Mr Trump has said he is “not happy” with the UK after it did not initially allow the US to use its bases for strikes on Iran, later adding in the Oval Office: “This is not Winston Churchill that we’re dealing with.”
Downing Street has insisted the US remains a “staunch” ally despite the repeated broadsides from Mr Trump.
Sir Keir decided on Sunday that UK bases including the joint UK-US Diego Garcia site in the Chagos Islands and RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire could be used in the conflict, but only so the US can strike defensively to protect countries being targeted by Tehran.
HMS Dragon is being readied to depart for the Mediterranean, and will be accompanied by two Wildcat helicopters equipped with so-called “drone busting” Martlet missiles, so it can protect Britain’s bases in Cyprus.
The warship, which is emblazoned with the Welsh red dragon on its prow, was pictured on Tuesday night at the Upper Harbour Ammunition Facility (UHAF) in Portsmouth harbour.
Elsewhere, Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper has confirmed that a Government charter flight will take off from Muscat, Oman, “in the coming days” to bring vulnerable British nationals back.
Some 130,000 Britons have registered their presence in the Middle East with the Foreign Office amid evacuation planning.
A handful of commercial flights are already bringing thousands of stranded Britons back to the UK, but the vast majority of departures from the region have been cancelled because of widespread airspace closures.
America and Israel have continuing to pound Iran since killing its supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Saturday
Tehran and its allies have retaliated against Israel, neighbouring Gulf states and oil and gas production facilities.
Mr Trump has indicated the US military could start escorting oil tankers as they travel through the narrow strait of Hormuz, in order to defend them from Iranian attacks and contain the soaring energy prices triggered by the war.
