Starmer tells MPs that clinging to Trump’s recent remarks “is not the special relationship”.

Keir Starmer told members of Parliament that “clinging to President Trump’s recent remarks does not define the special relationship,” following rebuke of his position on the Iran dispute.

A day after Donald Trump branded Starmer “not Winston Churchill” and expressed frustration that the United States was refused access to British bases for opening attacks, the prime minister’s management of Britain’s reaction to the clash was challenged by opposition leader Kemi Badenoch during Prime Minister’s Questions.

In a noisy and occasionally heated PMQs session, Badenoch persistently questioned Starmer’s choice to refrain from offensive raids on missile sites, demanding: “Why are we urging our partners to act where we ought to act ourselves?”

Starmer described the episode as “clearly a grave circumstance” and noted that “the nation is anxious about the risk of escalation.” He continued: “People are concerned about how this affects daily life, especially with energy issues; relatives of those trapped in the area are terrified, and we also have civilians and service members in danger there.”

Starmer told the chamber: “I was not ready on Saturday to commit the United Kingdom to a war without being convinced there was a legal justification and a sound, considered strategy.”

Badenoch argued that the United States had been forced to eliminate Iranian installations suspected of firing drones at an RAF station in Cyprus, addressing the Commons: “Our facilities have already been struck. Iran seeks to kill our troops. It is like catching arrows without stopping the archer.”

When Badenoch asked Starmer why extra defence funding had not been approved, he replied that evacuating British citizens was the foremost concern for the majority.

Starmer announced that the inaugural charter flight carrying British nationals out of the Middle East was scheduled to depart Oman at 23:00 local time (19:00 UK time), with two additional flights planned in the subsequent days.

He added that over a thousand British citizens returned to the United Kingdom on Tuesday amid ongoing US and Israeli bombardments of Iran and Iranian retaliations against neighboring states.

Members of Parliament were informed that eight more commercial flights are slated to depart the United Arab Emirates for Britain today.

Starmer noted that British forces have been deployed for several weeks, coordinating with the United States, and told MPs that British troops are engaged in missions safeguarding American lives.

He stated, “American aircraft are flying from British installations. That exemplifies the special relationship at work. British fighters are intercepting drones and missiles to shield American lives in the Middle East from our shared bases. That exemplifies the special relationship at work. Daily intelligence sharing keeps our citizens secure. That exemplifies the special relationship at work. Clinging to President Trump’s recent remarks does not constitute the special relationship.”