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Keir Starmer at the G7 Summit in Canada (Image: Getty)
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer is facing a nightmare decision after Donald Trump approved plans for the US to join Israel's attacks on Iran. While the US president has not issued the final decision to go ahead, he has approved the plan of action that the US military will use.
If the US does strike Iran, Sir Keir will have to decide whether the UK offers support – which could mean diplomatic support but is likely to mean allowing the US to use British resources, such as bases in Diego Garcia or Cyprus, which could be used for re-fuelling aircraft.
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The B-2 stealth bombers in Diego Garcia, in the Chagos Islands, are capable of carrying specialised “bunker buster” bombs which could be used against Iran’s underground nuclear facility at Fordo.
However, UK Attorney General Lord Hermer is reported to have raised legal concerns about any potential British involvement in the conflict beyond defending its allies, something that could limit the extent of any support for the US if Mr Trump decides to act militarily.
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Many of Sir Keir's Labour MPs would oppose UK involvement and it could cause serious problems for Labour MPs in constituencies where there is already anger about the Government's perceived failure to stop Israel's assault on Gaza.
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Foreign Secretary David Lammy is racing to Washington to meet US Secretary of State Marco Rubio for talks and Sir Keirconvened a Cobra meeting of senior ministers on Wednesday.
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4 days ago15:39 Jonathan Walker
Kemi Badenoch would back Starmer
Kemi Badenoch has said she would “in principle” support the US using the UK-controlled Diego Garcia base in the Chagos Islands in a potential strike on Iran.
Asked if Sir Keir Starmer should allow the US to use the base if necessary, she said: “So I haven’t seen the security briefings.
“But in principle, I think that that’s absolutely something that we should do. I don’t think the US or Israel would be rushing into something unless there was a serious threat to global security.
“But what is astonishing is that we now have to get permission from Mauritius, who are an ally of China and ally of Iran.
“That is a situation we should not have been in. And I’m also worried about us not being ready for the more dangerous world that we’re living in.”
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4 days ago15:27 Jonathan Walker
UK shouldn't get involved says senior Labour MP
The Labour chair of the foreign affairs committee Emily Thornberry has told Times Radio that the UK "shouldn't get involved" in Iran as we are not "under threat ourselves".
Speaking to Jo Coburn, she said: "I think that we shouldn't get involved. I don't think that we are under threat ourselves and I think the argument that one of our allies is under threat and needs our active support is a weak one.
"Donald Trump was in the middle of negotiations with Iran over cutting its nuclear material and ensuring that it didn't have the ability to be able to build a bomb and the Israelis attacked. I think that the best thing to do is to try to de-escalate and we can't on the one hand be saying de-escalate and then actively be involved."
4 days ago13:59 Steph Spyro
Welsh Secretary refuses to say whether UK should allow US to use base for Iran attack
Welsh Secretary Jo Stevens has refused to say whether the UK Government should allow America to use the Diego Garcia airbase to launch an attack on Iran.
Speaking to the PA news agency while on a visit to Port Talbot, she said: “The Prime Minister has spent the last few days at the G7 summit speaking to our allies and including President Trump. This is a fast moving, fluid situation.
“You obviously would not expect me to be talking about operational details and anything to do with what’s going on in the Middle East on a news bulletin.
“We have said the position needs to be de-escalated, we’ve called for more diplomacy. That’s what needs to happen.
“That’s what we have said should happen, and that’s what we want to continue.”
4 days ago13:33 David Williamson
Answers demanded from Downing Street on evacuation
The United States is talking about using cruise ships and evacuation flights to get American citizens out of Israel but the UK Government is keeping much more tight-lipped. Why?
Mike Huckabee, the US ambassador to the United Nations, issued an “urgent notice” to “American citizens wanting to leave Israel”. He said the US Embassy in Israel is “working on evacuation flights & cruise ship departures”.
Britain is taking a very different approach when it comes to evacuation plans – in public, at least.
When asked whether the UK will take similar action to the Americans, a Downing Street spokesman said: “I am not going to get into the details of our contingency planning here but there is a huge amount of work going on. It’s clearly a very live and febrile issue at the moment.
“Our diplomats and staff in the Foreign Office are working 24/7 to provide consular services to those who require assistance.”
The spokesman said it is a “fast-moving situation” but the “safety and security of British nationals remains our priority and we keep all our advice under constant review as you’d expect, and likewise as you’d expect we plan for a variety of scenarios and contingencies. We’ve encouraged British nationals to register their presence and pay close attention to the travel advice.”
The UK Government is focused on trying to “de-escalate” the crisis and resuscitate the diplomatic process. It is likely ministers are wary of saying anything which makes it sound as if all-out war between Iran, Israel and potentially the US is more likely.
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4 days ago12:41 Jonathan Walker
Downing Street won't discuss 'hypothetical' UK involvement
Asked if the UK would block the US from using the Diego Garcia base to launch a strike against Iran, the Prime Minister’s spokesman told journalists: “I’m not going to get into hypothetical situations and I’m not going to speculate on future operations, but we continue to liaise with international partners as the Prime Minister has done for a number of days now and will continue to do so.”
4 days ago12:40 Jonathan Walker
UK doesn't want war to escalate
“Too much is at stake” for the Iran-Israel conflict to escalate further, Chancellor Rachel Reeves has said, as US President Donald Trump mulls over whether to enter the arena.
Speaking at the Times CEO Summit, the Chancellor said: “We want to see a de-escalation, not an escalation of hostilities in the Middle East. We don’t think it’s in anyone’s interest to see an escalation. Too much is at stake."
4 days ago11:53 Jonathan Walker
No evacuation of Brits from Israel
The Foreign Office has evacuated family members of embassy staff from Israel based on a specific assessment of the risks they face, but has not advised British nationals.
Britons have already been advised against all travel to Israel and those already in the country have been urged to register their presence with the embassy.
The UK Government has pointed out that land borders with Jordan and Egypt remain open, and consular teams are in position to provide assistance to British nationals who choose to leave Israel by land.
Middle East minister Hamish Falconer said: “Our first job is to keep British nationals safe, and our dedicated teams in the region are working around the clock to do this.
“We are asking all British nationals in Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories to register their presence so that we can share our updates with them and make sure we’re giving them the best advice possible.”
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4 days ago09:33 Jonathan Walker
How the UK could be involved
US involvement could require the use of the UK-controlled Diego Garcia base in the Chagos Islands.
The B-2 stealth bombers based there are capable of carrying specialised “bunker buster” bombs which could be used against Iran’s underground nuclear facility at Fordo.
4 days ago08:21 Jonathan Walker
Starmer wants to 'de-escalate' Iran-Israel war
Miatta Fahnbulleh, energy minister has told Times Radio tha Keir Starmer's priority is to de-escalate the situation in the Middle East.
She said "The priority must be to de-escalate the situation, to get people around the negotiating table."
She added: "The prime minister is all across this. He is talking to his allies and his partners. He is using his influence in order to urge calm, cool heads, and urge people around the table."
4 days ago08:15 Jonathan Walker
Conservatives could back military action against Iran
Shadow foreign secretary Priti Patel said the Conservative Party would support the Government in joining the military fight against Iran if it was deemed necessary.
Asked whether she would agree if the UK joined the offensive, she told Good Morning Britain: “While we want peace in the region, we’re crystal clear that Iran should not be able to obtain nuclear weapons.
“And if the Government judges that such action is necessary to avoid that then we would absolutely support the Government if it deemed it necessary to ensure that we can defend our country, our citizens and effectively a lot of our strategic equities in the Middle East region.”
She added that she believed the Opposition would be able to hold the Government to account without a vote in Parliament on such a decision.
Ms Patel also told the programme that the Government needs to “step up” the evacuation of British nationals in Israel.
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4 days ago08:10 Jonathan Walker
'Starmer knew about Israel attack months ago'
Keir Starmer knew Israel was planning to attack Iran as far back as December, according to a report today - and had some of the details four days before they began.
Tim Shipman, Political Editor of the Spectator, makes the claim. He wrote: "Ministers have been expecting an Israeli offensive since December. David Lammy, the Foreign Secretary, led a cross-Whitehall tabletop war-gaming exercise into how events might unfold on Monday last week, four days before the first air strikes."
He also says Starmer has received legal advice warning that the UK should not assist Israel. This could become a problem though if the US does take part in the conflict, as America may want to make use of British resources.
4 days ago08:08 Jonathan Walker
Donald Trump ready to attack Iran say US reports
President Trump has approved plans for a US attack on Iran but was waiting to see if Tehran agrees to scrap its nuclear programme before giving the final order, according to leading US newspaper the Wall Street Journal
4 days ago07:39 Michael Knowles
Diplomacy ramping up amid all-out war fears
The Foreign Secretary's talks in Washington will cover the deteriorating situation in the Middle East and the war in Ukraine, as well as the UK-US trade deal, parts of which were finalised by Sir Keir and Mr Trump at the G7.
Meanwhile, nuclear talks with Iran and senior diplomats from the UK, Germany and France as well as the EU will take place in Geneva on Friday, a European official told the Associated Press.
In his comments outside the White House, Donald Trump had suggested the US could still hold talks with Iran.
"I can tell you this, Iran has got a lot of trouble and they want to negotiate," he said.
He said "it's very late to be talking", but "we may meet".
If the US decides to go ahead with strikes, it could seek to use the joint US-UK military base on Diego Garcia, which the UK would reportedly need to sign off on.
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4 days ago07:32 Michael Knowles
What did UK leaders discuss at a Cobra meeting?
The UK could be dragged closer to the war if the US asks to use the joint UK-US military base on Diego Garcia.
Washington could target the heavily reinforced Fordow nuclear site if they were to join the war.
Only American forces have bunker busting bombs that can penetrate Fordow and destroy the key facilities. They are launched from American B2 stealth bombers.
Washington moved at least six B2 bombers to Diego Garcia in March as it increased pressure on Tehran to agree a nuclear deal.
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4 days ago07:28 Michael Knowles
Government minister breaks silence on bombshell legal advice
Sir Keir Starmer will be a "cool, calm head" guided by international law in response to the Israel-Iran crisis, a Government minister said.
Attorney General Lord Hermer is reported to have raised concerns about any potential UK involvement in the conflict beyond defending its allies, something which could limit any support for the US if Donald Trump decides to bomb Iranian nuclear sites.
Energy minister Miatta Fahnbulleh told Times Radio: "Legal advice is for the Prime Minister, and I think that's where it will stay and you can understand why I won't comment on that.
"But what I will say is that we have a Prime Minister who is a lawyer and a human rights lawyer, he will obviously do everything that is in accord with international law.
"No-one wants an escalation. No-one wants this to erupt into a major conflict in the region that is hugely destabilising for every country involved and for us, globally.
"So the most important role that the Prime Minister can play, and is playing, is to be that cool, calm head, to urge all partners around the negotiating table and to find a diplomatic route out of this."