Badenoch says UK is ‘in this war whether Starmer likes it or not’
Kemi Badenoch has said the Prime Minister is “too scared to make foreign interventions” and that the UK is “in this war whether Keir Starmer likes it or not”.
Speaking at the Conservative Party’s spring conference in Harrogate, Mrs Badenoch said the Prime Minister was “sitting on the fence” when it comes to the conflict in the Middle East.
The Tory leader said last week’s by-election won by the Greens has “spooked” the Labour Party.
“Now Keir Starmer is too scared to make foreign interventions for fear of upsetting a tiny section of that electorate.
“Everyone remembers the mistakes of the Iraq War, nobody sensible is suggesting that we should drop bombs without a second thought.
“But Keir Starmer spent days consulting lawyers, plucking up the courage to say whose side he was on.
“Canada and Australia had the moral clarity to do so immediately and unequivocally. Even now, our Prime Minister is sitting on the fence. We are in this war, whether Keir Starmer likes it or not.”
Mrs Badenoch has called on the Government to authorise the RAF to strike Iran’s missile launch sites, which Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy suggested on Friday was a possibility.
It comes after a row erupted over Mrs Badenoch’s suggestion that the UK military had been “just hanging around” and not taking the necessary action in the Middle East.
Asked whether she supported firing on Iranian missile bases, she told BBC Breakfast on Friday: “What else are our jets doing, just hanging around there?
“They need to be able to see who is attacking us and stop them from firing at British soldiers or even British people in hotels.”
Defence Secretary John Healey said the remark “insults the men and women of our armed forces” and that she should apologise.
Recent polling suggests that the most common view among the British public is that the UK’s stance in the conflict should be purely defensive.
In her speech, the Conservative Party leader also criticised Reform UK, saying of Nigel Farage’s party: “Reform are not serious people and not going to solve your problems.”
She also criticised the Greens for wanting to “scrap our nuclear deterrent”, saying: “The Green Party leader only wants to make two things bigger, and neither of them is our army.”
Mrs Badenoch added: “I have no idea what the Lib Dems think, and I don’t think they do either”.
She also spoke of the Conservative pledge to bring back the two-child benefit cap and put the money raised into defence, and said the Iran conflict would bring an “oil price shock that will play havoc with the economy”.
“We have to drill our own oil and gas now,” she said.
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What a silly girl.
Kemi all for illegal war then, bombing school girls to death. I assume that sits well with her.
No, who in the US is telling this specimen to say this? We have reform and Tory in the pockets of the US. Traitors the lot of them. They hate Starmer so much they will become a 5th column.
US now blowing up water plants.
war crimes.
Now its raining oil in Tehran. Civilian’s are targeted by the US.
They haven’t learnt their lesson from Iraq. Violating International law by becoming the world’s policeman, which is a slippery slope to returning to the days of Imperialism.
She’s kind of right, but not for the reasons the states.
We were part of the original problem when we helped install the Shar back in the 50s so we could continue exploiting their oil
“We have to drill our own oil and gas now”
Doesn’t make it any cheaper. But it does enrich her sponsors.
Also, is now the right time for Europe to form a European Defence Force, like he asked, so there’s no need to ask how high when Don calls.
Cymru ain’t got no oil or gas.
According to some sources there’s at least four years of frackable UK gas demand under south Wales. Which might explain Reform’s interest in Wales.
We are already piping it ashore in North Wales. Point of Air/Talacre
So what is all this stuff that is being piped ashore by Talacre?
Someone please turn her off. Farage too
And if Tony Blair could find his own “mute” button and press it, that would be good too.
Mach Loop snappers need to help identify the F-15E sometime based in the UK that fell on Kuwait the other day, could be a pay day for one of those hilltop camera men…
I think they have kept Kemi in the dark about the state of our armed forces…
Iran has admitted a stockpile of 60% enriched uranium. UN inspectors detected materials in their enrichment plant filters that they had been enriching to over 90% prior to the inspection. There is no civilian purpose for such high enrichments. They have also been producing Tritium, which is a component of modern nuclear warheads. Iran has been sponsoring terrorism. Could anyone tell me how Iran with nuclear weapons is going to be of benefit to the region or to the rest of the world?
Perhaps you’re too young to remember the 2000s when very similar claims were made about Iraq. We were told with great certainty that Iraq possessed weapons of mass destruction, and we all know how that turned out. Iran had complied with the 2015 nuclear agreement before the Trump withdrew from it just to spite Obama. That deal placed strict limits on Iran’s enrichment and subjected it to extensive international inspections. After the agreement collapsed, those limits inevitably began to unravel. I don’t want Iran to have nuclear weapons any more than I like the idea of Kim Jong Um, Vladimir… Read more »
Iran has admitted to the stockpile of 60%. The analysis of the filter was carried out by independent observers. Analysis of water samples in the vicinity of the enrichment plants have shown enrichment above that required for civilian use. Why if it is all above board has Iran denied access to UN inspectors? This is not a sexed up document. Also Iran has made unprovoked missile attacks against Israeli Please look up the relevant UN document.
Concerns about enrichment levels are exactly why the 2015 nuclear agreement was negotiated in the first place. Trump’s withdrawal from that agreement during his first term undermined the framework so he is at fault here.
Historically, states acquire nuclear weapons primarily as a deterrent rather than for actual use. Even if Iran were attempting to obtain one, it does not automatically mean it would be used. The doctrine of Mutually Assured destruction exists because nuclear-armed states know that a direct war between them would be catastrophic for both sides, with no real winner.
So the question is Why did Biden not reverse Trump’s decision? Do you think that cruise missile attack on Saudi was pertinent. It was Trump that made the Highly Enriched Material. it was Iran Nobody forced them.
Let’s ignore the Obama deal that Trump nixed because Trump is basically that racist he hates anything that Obama did and let’s ignore China and Russia that basically own Trump. Let’s ignore Trump and hegseth starting a regional war and setting Iran up for generations now to hate the US and west and go for attacks over those generations. So how is the US with nuclear weapons a benefit to the world? Trump has bombed seven countries to date, regime change I. Venezuela’s and looking at Cuba, threatens to invade Canada and Greenland and interferes through Kemi and Nige in… Read more »
Oh yeah, lets not forget the US claimed they bombed all their nuclear ability to oblivion with their bunker busters.
That went well didn’t it.
The bunker buster would only damage the enrichment plant. IE the factory that altered the enrichment. The material actual material would have been in 5 inch diameter transport cylinders, which as the name suggests can be moved about and the size is so small they can be hidden in someone’s suitcase and can be carried by a single person. No before you go further down conspiracy land the IEAA have published photos of the plant which clearly show arrays of centrifuges
US got it wrong then. And we are to trust them now for why?
Jeff, I would much rather trust them than the Iranians, they have been supplying drones to be used against Ukraine, they are the ones that 8 years ago bombed Saudi Arabia. They have been given the offer to allow open access to their nuclear facilities, they have refused. That would have stopped any reason or pretext for the US bombardment. Why did they not do it?
In February the Iran regime, by their own admission over 3000 dissidents/ protesters. One third of Venezuelan population have left under Maduro misrule. They would know much better what the situation is like out there. And as for Cuba it has become an island of old people because anyone under 30 gets smuggled out. The population there know what it is like, far more than you or me.
Errata: In February the Iran regime by their own admission killed over 3000 dissidents/protesters. Many were shot at close range in the head.
I refer the interested reader to UN resolution 2231. This was formulated in 2015 for the non proliferation of nuclear weapons, and it required that Iran not to produce more than research quantities of highly enriched uranium (a few kg) . Since then(2016) Iran tested missiles that were capable of carrying nuclear warheads and striking Israel. So when they refused to stop development, in 2018 the US reimposed sanctions, whilst not in actual breach , Iran was in breach of the spirit of the resolution. Since then Iranian made cruise missiles have been used to attack Saudi Arabia, (2019) and… Read more »
Says li’l ole Miss America.
So when are we sending her off to fight?
Trump told Starmer he is not in this war.
That’s good then isn’t it. Still need to defend assets and allies.
Oh do pipe down Temu Maggie.
This is going to be another search for imaginary WMD’s.
The only trouble is that Iran already have been firing their missiles, so we know that they are there. Also they admit to have enough highly enriched uranium for a dozen or so warheads