LONDON, March 4 (Reuters) – Keir Starmer said Britain would respond to the escalating conflict in the Middle East with a “cool head” after President Donald Trump chastised the prime minister for failing to provide sufficient support for his strikes on Iran.
Britain, historically a staunch ally of Washington, initially refused to allow its military bases to be used by the U.S. for its assault on Tehran, only tempering that position when Iran attacked its neighbours – allowing UK bases to be used for limited defensive strikes.
Trump responded by castigating Starmer three times, including in the Oval Office on Tuesday where he told reporters “This is not Winston Churchill that we’re dealing with”.
Starmer, who had previously said any British military action must have a “viable, thought-through plan”, told parliament on Wednesday that the so-called special relationship was on display every day in the conflict, and didn’t hang on the words of the U.S. president.
Citing American planes flying from British bases, British jets protecting U.S. bases and the sharing of intelligence, he said: “That is the special relationship in action.
“Hanging on to President Trump’s latest words is not the special relationship.”
Starmer said he knew people across Britain were worried about the potential for escalation, and as a result he said Britain would act “with clarity, with purpose and with a cool head”.
Starmer has been criticised from all sides at home for the decision, with opponents on the left calling for him to condemn the military action. On the right, opposition leaders Kemi Badenoch and Nigel Farage attacked Starmer for failing to back Britain’s key security and intelligence ally.
Starmer said Britain had been liaising closely with the United States for weeks on pre-deploying military assets to the region.
After an Iranian-made Shahed drone hit the runway on the British Akrotiri base on the island of Cyprus, London said it would deploy HMS Dragon, an air-defence destroyer, along with additional helicopters with counter-drone capabilities.
(Reporting by Sam Tabahriti, writing by Kate Holton; editing by William James)
