Trump says ‘special relationship clearly not what it used to be’ after Starmer refuses to back Iran attacks – UK Politics Live

Asked whether the so-called “special relationship” had changed, Darren Jones told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme:

UK-US relations are important. This has been the case for a long time and will continue to be so, and we are currently working collaboratively on defensive action to protect British citizens in the Middle East.

I think it’s the President’s frustration The way he expressed it is that we were not involved in the initial American and Israeli attacks in Iran But as the Prime Minister said in the House of Commons yesterday, we will only involve British armed forces when it is in the British interest. a clear plan and on one legal basis.

Now we are doing this for defensive action, but we are not going to get involved in any broader conflict in the Middle East.

Asked whether the initial attacks were lawful, he said, “Okay, this is a question for Americans and the US administration.”

In his interview with The Sun last night, Donald Trump also suggested that Keir Starmer was “baiting” Muslim voters in formulating his policy regarding Iran, a baseless claim that the Prime Minister’s chief secretary described as unfounded. Darren Jones was asked about on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme this morning.

Jones said:

It’s just, it’s not right. The UK will prioritise its citizens, regardless of their religion or location.

I think the public will rightly say that they do not want to get involved in a widespread war in the Middle East, but they will expect us to do everything possible to protect British citizens.

Keir Starmer has often been praised in the past for his ability to maintain relations with the volatile US president, but in the House of Commons on Monday the prime minister expressed scepticism about US actions in Tehran. legality.

“We all remember the mistakes of Iraq, and we’ve learned those lessons. Any UK action must always have a legitimate basis and a pragmatically considered plan,” he said. “That’s the principle I applied to the decisions I took over the weekend.”

Speaking in the Commons on Monday, Starmer said Britain was deploying aircraft and allowing the use of bases for defensive purposes as Iran launched attacks on Britain’s allies in the region in retaliation.

He said the RAF had intercepted an Iranian drone attack headed toward a coalition base in Iraq, where British forces were stationed. Two drones were also fired at the British base in Cyprus, RAF Akrotiri, which Starmer said was launched before Sunday night’s statement on US use of UK bases.

The UK and US are expected to allow the use of RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire and Diego Garcia to bomb Iran’s “missile cities” in the Chagos Islands, sites where high-speed ballistic missiles, Iran’s most dangerous weapons, are stored and from which they can be launched.

You can read more from the Guardian’s deputy political editor, Jessica Elgot, here:

Good morning and welcome to our live coverage of UK politics. US President Donald Trump has said he is “very sad” to see that UK-US relations are “not what they were” after criticising Keir Starmer for taking “too long” to allow US forces to use his airbase to attack Iran.

In a telephone interview with Harry Cole, political editor of The Sun, Trump said:

It really is a different world. This is a completely different kind of relationship from what we have had with your country before.

It’s heartbreaking to see that the relationship is clearly not what it was before.

Speaking to The Sun from the White House on Monday evening, Trump compared Starmer’s actions to France’s support for the attacks and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte’s support for them.

He said, “That hasn’t been helpful. I never thought I’d see that. I never thought I’d see that from the UK. We love the UK.”

In a significant and rare break from Washington on foreign policy, Starmer said on Monday the UK does not believe in “regime change from the sky” as he defended his decision not to allow the use of UK bases for the initial wave of attacks.

But the prime minister said the situation changed on Sunday as Iran’s “outrageous” response posed a threat to the British people and Britain’s allies.

He has now agreed to a US request to use British military bases for “defensive” strikes on Iranian missile sites.

Kemi Badenoch, the Tory leader, accused the government of being “too scared” to take a tough stance against Iran.

We will focus primarily today on the UK’s political response to the rapid developments in the Israel-US war on Iran, as conflict escalates across the region with Israeli forces launching new attacks on Tehran and Beirut.

You can follow our Business Live blog to see the market reaction as the war pushed oil and gas prices higher after Iran expanded its retaliatory attacks on US targets in the Gulf region.