Sir Tony Blair has criticised Sir Keir Starmer’s slow support for Donald Trump’s war on Iran, reportedly telling an event: “We should have backed America from the very beginning”.
The former prime minister told a private Jewish News event on Friday that Sir Keir should have let the Trump administration use British airbases to strike Iran.
He reportedly added: “If they are your ally and they are an indispensable cornerstone for your security … you had better show up”.
Sir Tony’s comments were made in private on the understanding that he would not be quoted, but they have since appeared in the Mail on Sunday and The Sunday Times.
Asked about the former Labour prime minister’s comments on Sky News on Sunday morning, foreign secretary Yvette Cooper said: “I just disagree.”
She added: “We learn the lessons from some of the things that went wrong in Iraq, and I think that is exactly what Keir Starmer has done.”
The intervention came as Mr Trump again criticised Sir Keir over the UK’s approach to the Middle East conflict, saying that the US does not need anyone to “join wars after we’ve already won”.
Mr Trump was referring to reports that the UK is preparing an aircraft carrier for deployment to the Middle East.
The US president posted on his Truth Social platform: “The United Kingdom, our once great Ally, maybe the greatest of them all, is finally giving serious thought to sending two aircraft carriers to the Middle East.
“That’s OK, prime minister Starmer, we don’t need them any longer — But we will remember. We don’t need people that join wars after we’ve already won!”
Sir Keir has defended his decision not to allow US forces to use British bases to support initial strikes on Iran, saying he needed to be satisfied that any military action was legal and well planned.
However Sir Tony told the Jewish News event: “I am not saying anything that I haven’t already said to the government … I think we should have backed America from the very beginning.
“We have got to be very clear about this as a country. We’re depending on the American alliance for our country. They are not just an ally, they are an indispensable ally, right?”
He continued: “The American relationship matters. It matters particularly today. It’s not a question of whether it’s this president or that president. If they are your ally and they are an indispensable cornerstone for your security…you had better show up.”
The former prime minister, who brought the UK into the Iraq war in 2003 on the false belief that Saddam Hussein’s regime had weapons of mass destruction, added: “On foreign policy, I think people would just prefer you to be strong and out there and clear, even if they don’t agree with you.”
In January, the Trump administration named Sir Tony as a member of the founding executive board of the Board of Peace. The board will oversee governance, reconstruction, investment and large-scale funding for Mr Trump’s Gaza plan following the ceasefire, the White House said.
