Keir Starmer has hit back at Donald Trump’s criticism of the UK not getting involved in the strikes on Iran
“It is my duty to judge what is in Britain’s national interest. That is what I have done. And I stand by it” he said in a statement to Parliament
He suggests that the original airstrikes by the US and Israel were not lawful and says that there is no ‘thought-through plan’ for what should happen next
He repeatedly says that Britain has learned the lessons of Iraq
‘This government does not believe in regime change from the skies. The lessons of history has taught us that it is important when we make decisions like this that we establish there is a lawful basis for what the United Kingdom is doing.
‘That is one of the lessons from Iraq. And there is a viable thought-through plan with an objective that can be achieved.
‘That is the principles that I applied to the decisions that I made over the weekend. They are the principles I applied to the decision not to get involved with the offensive strikes of the US and Israel.
‘They are also the principles I applied to be able to take defensive action in order to hit the launchers that are currently threatening our citizens and our military personnel’
