RAF jets could legally strike Iran’s missile bases, says David Lammy – UK politics live | Politics
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Lammy calls for investigation into National Security Council leaks
David Lammy also said there should be an investigation into leaks at a National Security Council meeting that revealed divisions in the cabinet over allowing the US to use British bases for attacks on Iran.
The Spectator reports that Keir Starmer suggested at a meeting last Friday that the US be allowed to use the bases to carry out defensive strikes against Iranian targets, but was met with opposition from Ed Miliband, Rachel Reeves, Yvette Cooper and Shabana Mahmood.
Permission to use the bases against Iran’s missile sites was only granted on Sunday, after Tehran launched a wave of retaliatory attacks against countries in the Middle East.
Lammy told Sky News:
I do not recognize these reports and must say that I think it is a travesty that anyone should report to the National Security Council… because this of course puts British lives at risk and I hope this will be properly investigated.
Lammy says RAF jets can legally strike Iran’s missile bases
Hello and welcome to the UK politics blog.
Royal Air Force jets can legally strike down Iranian missile sites used to attack British interests in the Middle East, David Lammy said this morning.
The deputy prime minister emphasized that F-35 and Typhoon jets currently only shoot down missiles and unmanned aerial vehicles that Iran fires at its allies in the region.
But he said there was a legal basis for them to do more and directly attack Iranian bases used in the attacks.
Britain has already given the United States permission to use British bases to launch defensive strikes against Iran’s missile facilities.
He told BBC Breakfast:
It is completely legal to protect our employees and staff and therefore we have full operational capacity under these circumstances.
He said that Britain has the satellite and intelligence capacity to detect facilities in Iran.
Asked whether the UK could fire in anticipation of an attack on an Iranian base, he said:
My understanding is that this would be legal.
In other developments:
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At the press conference held yesterday, Keir Starmer said that Britain will send four additional Typhoon jets to Qatar and anti-drone Wildcat helicopters to Cyprus. He said the US was allowed to use British airspace to carry out defense missions and that HMS Dragon was heading towards the Mediterranean.
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Kemi Badenoch said that Britain should take offensive action against Iran after the attack on British bases. “We must do everything we can to prevent these attacks from happening,” the Conservative Party leader told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.
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Shabana Mahmood has put herself on a collision course with Labor MPs after announcing a series of changes to the immigration system that she said mimicked Donald Trump and another that she claimed would lead to a Windrush-style scandal. The home secretary laid out plans on Thursday, including ending permanent refugee status and removing government support for asylum seekers deemed to be in need or who have broken the law.
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Mahmood said a small number of asylum seekers whose claims were rejected under the pilot scheme would be offered “increased incentive payments” of up to £10,000 per person and £40,000 per family. The home secretary said the government would seek to replicate reforms introduced in Denmark, where he said there had been “huge success” in the use of incentives.
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The husband of a Labor MP and two other men have been released on bail after being arrested on suspicion of spying for China. David Taylor, who is married to Scottish Labor MP Joani Reid, is accused of aiding a foreign intelligence service.
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Nigel Farage described May’s Senedd election as a “referendum” on Keir Starmer; Reform UK is set to battle Plaid Cymru for the chance to end Labour’s century-long dominance in Wales. Unveiling Reform’s election manifesto in Newport on Thursday alongside the party’s newly appointed Welsh leader, Dan Thomas, Farage said: “This is a Welsh election, but I’m afraid, like it or not, it will double as a referendum on Keir Starmer’s premiership.”
