Starmer under pressure from his own MPs after refusing to denounce Trump over Venezuela
Sir Keir Starmer is facing a growing revolt from Labor MPs over his failure to condemn Donald Trump’s attacks on Venezuela and the capture of Nicolas Maduro.
Former shadow attorney general Dame Emily Thornberry has become the most senior Labor figure to condemn the US’s actions and has pressed Sir Keir to deny Mr Trump’s behavior and say “this needs to be publicised”.
Dame Emily, chair of the House of Commons foreign affairs select committee, warned: “You can’t go into a smaller country and take its resources, tell its leaders what to do or put leaders in jail.
“There are rules, they emerged from the chaos, suffering and bloodshed of the Second World War.
“Maybe it’s not true. Just because bigger countries can enter smaller countries doesn’t mean they’re allowed.”
writing in Daily Mirror, He said: “That doesn’t mean it won’t happen, but it’s in everyone’s interest if it doesn’t happen and that needs to be publicised.
“Trump says Venezuela is in his ‘sphere of influence’ and therefore he has a free hand.
“The concern is that China today is saying, ‘Isn’t Taiwan in our sphere of influence?’ he might be thinking. Putin also thinks ‘Ukraine is in my hands’.”
His comments were echoed by Norwich Labor MP Clive Lewis, who said the US attack on Venezuela was “a clear violation of the Nuremberg principles which the UK helped write”.
“Now a [Labour government] I won’t even defend them,” Mr. Lewis said in a post on X (Twitter).
“This silence is not diplomacy. It is the moral equivalent of a white flag.”
The Nuremberg principles are the fundamental rules of international law established after World War II.
Left-wing Labor MP Richard Burgon demanded Sir Keir join other leaders in criticizing Mr Trump, while Liverpool Riverside Labor MP Kim Johnson questioned “whether we as a country still support international law and sovereignty”.
“Keir Starmer either believes in international law or he doesn’t,” Mr Burgon said in a post on X.
He added: “You can’t pick and choose. Trump’s war against Venezuela is about stealing its oil. It’s also about turning all of Latin America back into a US colony.”
“And this is about sending the message that international law doesn’t matter. All governments, including ours, must oppose Trump’s gangster policies.”
Apsana Begum, Labor MP for Poplar and Limehouse, said: “The Prime Minister’s support for Trump will forever mark his legacy.
“This is disgraceful and does great harm to democracy, trust at home and the UK’s global standing.”
Ms Begum tweeted: “British people still remember the UK’s role in supporting the illegal US-led war in Iraq. Even now, under international law, the Venezuelan people have the right to determine their own future.”
Meanwhile, former Labor MP Diane Abbott, who now sits as an Independent MP, told Sir Keir: “If you can’t say this is illegal, all your talk about human rights, law and democracy is hugely overrated.”
And former Labor leader Jeremy Corbyn accused President Trump of an “unprovoked and illegal attack” on Venezuela.
It has not yet criticized the US raid, worried about maintaining diplomatic ties with former human rights lawyer Sir Keir, Britain’s strongest ally.
Instead, he said he wanted to “establish the facts and go from there,” adding that he was a “lifelong advocate of international law.”
The Prime Minister later appeared to approve of Mr. Trump’s actions, stating that he “will shed no tears” over the end of the Maduro regime.
With Mr Trump threatening further action against Greenland and Colombia, calls from the Labor Left and others for Sir Keir to speak out are likely to grow.
But Home Secretary Mike Tapp refused to comment on whether the government would condemn such action, telling Sky News he would “not make an explicit comment” or “talk about hypotheticals”.
Asked about the US president’s threats, Mr Tapp told Sky News: “I’ll be really clear that allies are important, so these careful diplomatic conversations behind the scenes are ongoing with the US, our European allies and our Five Eyes partners, and we won’t have any ongoing comment.”
Asked if he would say the UK would condemn any action against Greenland, he said: “They are both NATO members and I’m really proud that NATO is using the debate on partition.”
