Commons Chamber

Monday 2nd March 2026

(began 48 minutes ago)

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Keir Starmer Portrait Rt Hon Sir Keir Starmer MP, The Prime Minister (Holborn and St Pancras, Labour)
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Thank you, Mr. Speaker. With >> Thank you, Mr. Speaker. With permission, I will update the House on the situation in Iran and the on the situation in Iran and the wider region and our response. Mr. speaker, the United Kingdom was not involved in the initial strikes on Iran by the US and Israel. That decision was deliberate. We believe that the best way forward for the region and for the world is a negotiated settlement in which Iran agrees to give up any aspirations to develop a nuclear weapon and cease its destabilising activity across the region.

That has been the long standing position of successive British government. President Trump has expressed his disagreement with our decision not to get involved in the initial strikes, but it is my duty to judge what is in Britain's national interest. That is what I have done and I stand by it. But, Mr. Speaker, it is clear that Iran's outrageous response has become a threat to our people, our interests and our allies, and it cannot be ignored.

Iran has lashed out across the region. They've launched hundreds of missiles and thousands of drones at countries which did not attack them, including the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, Iraq, Bahrain and Oman. And overnight, Hezbollah, Iran's proxy in Lebanon, launched attacks on Israel seeking to escalate the war. Mr. speaker, there are an estimated 300,000 British citizens in the region. Residents, families on holiday and those in transit. Iran has hit airports and hotels where British citizens are staying.

It is deeply concerning for the whole house and the whole country. And, Mr. Speaker, our armed forces are also being put at risk by Iran's actions. On Saturday, Iran hit a military base in Bahrain with missiles and drones. There were 300 British personnel on the base, some within a few hundred yards of the strike. Last night, a drone hit RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus. There were no casualties in this strike. Mr. speaker, it is important for me to say that our bases in Cyprus are not being used by US bombers.

The security of our friends and partners in Cyprus is of critical importance. And, Mr. Speaker, I want to be clear, the strike on RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus was not in response to any decision that we have taken in our assessment, in our assessment. The drone was launched prior to our announcement. Iran's aggression towards Britain and our interests is long standing, and that is why we have always ensured that protections for British bases and personnel are at their highest level.

Mr. speaker, it is very clear that the death of the Supreme Leader will not stop Iran from launching these strikes. In fact, their approach is becoming even more reckless and more dangerous to civilians. They are working ruthlessly and deliberately through a plan to strike not only military targets, but also economic targets in the region, with no regard for civilian casualties. That is the situation we face today and to which we must respond. Mr. speaker, I have been speaking to our Gulf partners over the weekend.

They're outraged by Iran's acts, particularly as they played no part in any strikes, and they've asked us to do more to defend them. Moreover, it is my duty, the highest duty of my office, to protect British lives. That is why we put British jets in the air. Typhoons and F-35s, as part of coordinated defensive operations which have already successfully intercepted Iranian strikes, including Mr Speaker taking out one drone that was heading towards a coalition base in Iraq, housing UK service personnel.

I want to pay tribute to our brilliant servicemen and women putting themselves in harm's way to keep others safe, and I know the whole house will join me in expressing our gratitude and our respect. But, Mr. Speaker, it is simply not possible to shoot down every Iranian missile and every drone after they've been launched. The only way to stop the threat is to destroy the missiles at source, in their storage depots, or at the launchers. The US requested permission to use British bases for that specific and limited defensive purpose, because they have the capabilities to do so.

Yesterday evening, we took the decision to accept that new request in order to prevent Iran firing missiles across the region, killing innocent civilians, putting British lives at risk and hitting countries that have not been involved. To be clear, the use of British bases is limited to the agreed defensive purposes. We are not joining the US and Israeli offensive strikes. The basis for our decision is the collective self-defence of long standing friends and allies, and protecting British lives.

It is in accordance with international law and we produced a summary of our legal advice which clearly sets this out. We will keep the decision under review. Mr. speaker, we are not joining the strikes, but we will continue our defensive actions in the region. France and Germany are also prepared to enable US action to destroy Iran's capability to fire missiles and drones from source. I have been in close contact with President Macron and Chancellor Merkel in recent days, as well as President Trump and leaders across the region to that end, Mr Speaker be in no doubt the regime in Iran is utterly abhorrent.

In January, they murdered thousands of their own people. The full horror of which is still hidden from the world. For decades, they have sought to destabilise the region and export terror around the world. Their proxies in Yemen have targeted British ships in the Red sea. They facilitated Russia's attacks in Ukraine. The regime's tentacles have even reached these shores, posing a direct threat to Iranian dissidents and to the Jewish community. Over the last year alone, Iran has backed more than 20 potentially lethal attacks on UK soil, each of which Mr Speaker we have foiled.

So it's clear the Iranian regime must never be allowed to get their hands on nuclear weapons. That remains the primary aim of the United Kingdom and our allies, including the US. And ultimately, this will have to be achieved at the negotiating table. Mr. speaker, in this dangerous moment, our first thoughts are with our citizens in the region. Friends, family members and constituents. I recognise the deep concern that the situation is causing for those involved and for communities across the country.

We're asking all British citizens in the region to register their presence so we can provide the best possible support and to monitor the Home Office travel advice, which is being regularly updated across much of the region. Airspace remains closed and local authorities are advising individuals to shelter in place. The situation on the ground may remain challenging for some time, so we're sending rapid deployment teams to the region to support our British nationals on support our British nationals on the ground, and we're in close contact with the travel industry and governments in the region of British nationals in that country.

And we are looking at all options to support our people. We want to ensure that they can return home as swiftly and safely as possible. The FCDO. Phone lines are open to provide consular support and Ministers are available to meet MPs to discuss any individual cases. Mr. speaker, we're also reaching out to communities across the United Kingdom, including Muslim and Jewish community organisations, and we're making sure that sites across the country, including places of worship, have appropriate protective security in place.

Mr. speaker, the situation in the region is developing rapidly, so we will continue to update the House in coming days. Mr. speaker, I've spoken recently about the toll that global events are taking here at home. They come crashing into our lives with ever greater frequency, hitting our economy, driving up prices on the supermarket shelves or at the pump, dividing communities, bringing anxiety and fear. That's why how we operate on the world stage matters so much. Mr.

Mr. speaker, we all remember the mistakes of Iraq, and we have learned those lessons. Any UK actions must always have a lawful basis and a viable thought through plan. I say again, we were not involved in the initial strikes on Iran and we will not join offensive action now. But in the face of Iran's barrage of missiles and drones, we will protect our people in the region and support the collective self-defence of our allies, because that is our duty to the British people.

It is the best way to eliminate the urgent threat, to prevent the situation spiralling further and support a return to diplomacy. It is the best way to protect British interests and British lives. That is what this government is doing and I commend this statement to the House.
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Kemi Badenoch Portrait Rt Hon Kemi Badenoch MP (North West Essex, Conservative)
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Leader of the Opposition Kemi Badenoch. >> Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And can I thank the Prime Minister for advance sight of his statement and advance sight of his statement and for the security briefing I received earlier? This is a defining moment for the people of Iran, the wider Middle East and the world order. I know that hundreds of thousands of British people still in the region, many sheltering from drone attacks, are fearful about making it home. I agree with the Prime Minister that everyone in the region should follow FCDO advice and register their presence with the British Embassy.

Can the Prime Minister confirm whether he is making contingency plans for a potential evacuation of UK citizens, and what stage the operational planning is at? Let me also Mr Speaker pay tribute to our brave service personnel stationed in British bases in the region. I know that this will be an anxious time for them and their families. They all have our support. Mr. speaker, we stand in solidarity with our allies, including Bahrain, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait who along with others have been on the receiving end of unprovoked aggression.

On Saturday, our allies, the United States and Israel, took targeted action against the Iranian regime, a regime which for decades has been brutally repressing its own citizens, whose leader had the blood of hundreds of thousands of Iranians on his hands and of countless others around the world killed by Iranian proxies. This regime is the world's foremost sponsor of international terrorism. It seeks to annihilate the world's only Jewish state. It has said so repeatedly. And we should take despots at their word.

It is a regime whose apparatchiks chant Death to Britain. It has attacked British nationals and conducted multiple plots on British soil. As the head of MI5 has warned, it is manufacturing drones en masse for Russia. Drones which are raining down on innocent Ukrainians. And it continues to try to develop nuclear weapons in flagrant violation of international agreements. Nuclear weapons, which, if obtained, would be an existential threat for this country. The outcome of Ayatollah Khamenei's death will, we hope, be a safer Middle East and a safer world.

With the future of Iran back in the hands of the Iranian people? But that outcome is not yet guaranteed. On Saturday, our allies in Canada and Australia immediately backed the action taken by America against this despotic regime in Tehran. And I have made it very clear that the Conservative Party also stands behind America, taking this necessary action against state sponsored terror. But over the weekend, statements from the government and the Prime Minister provided no such clarity. It was only last night that the Prime Minister finally told us that the government would allow our allies the use of our own air bases, despite it being obvious that UK interests were under imminent threat.

It took Iranian missiles hitting allies in the Gulf before he finally made a decision. And even after that, the Foreign Secretary said this morning that the government has put limits on the actions of our allies operating from our bases. Unbelievably, in his statement today, the Prime Minister still cannot say whether he backs the strikes or not. Today, the president of the United States has taken the extraordinary step of rebuking the Prime Minister publicly, saying he took far too long to grant access.

We are told that this dither and delay is because of concerns over international law, but I am afraid that explanation simply does not hold. International law did not prevent our allies from clearly and unequivocally stating whose side they were on. You don't need international law to say whose side you're on. It has not prevented British governments in the past from supporting strikes, which we knew to be right. As the shadow attorney general has said, if the doctrines of international law are unable to restrain Iranian terrorism and mass murder, if they tie the hands of democracies while forcing us to stand and watch Iranian atrocities, international law will have failed.

It will have become a fundamentally immoral system of law. Why is it that under this Prime Minister, international law always seems to be at odds with our national interest? Why is it

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that we are giving away? Why is it? Caerphilly Kim?

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Caerphilly Kim? Why is it that we are giving away the Chagos Islands and paying £35 billion for the privilege, rather than standing up for our rather than standing up for our national interests and protecting the crucial military base, which even now our allies are using. We even now our allies are using. We in this House are elected to stand up for Britain's national interest. And where the government is doing the right thing, we will always back them. So let me reiterate our offer that if the government brings forward legislation to fast track banning the IRGC, we will support them.

But let me ask the Prime Minister what national interest was served by refusing to help our allies for so long, particularly when we so need American support to protect Ukraines and Europes security? Are we going to see new UK military capabilities deployed to protect our security partners, our bases, including in Cyprus and British nationals in the region? And will the Prime Minister ensure the Chancellor uses the spring statement tomorrow to set Britain on a clear path to 3% of GDP on defence spending? There is no point wanting action to make the world a safer place, but being too scared to do anything except stand by and watch others Mr Speaker.

Our national interest and national security must be front and centre. The Conservative Party will always work with our allies to make the world a safer place.
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Keir Starmer Portrait Rt Hon Sir Keir Starmer MP, The Prime Minister (Holborn and St Pancras, Labour)
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Yes. >> Yes. >> Mr. Speaker, she asked about contingency contingency plans for contingency contingency plans for UK nationals, and I can assure her in the House, we're working at speed with our partners in the region to take whatever measures we can to make sure that our people can return as safely and as swiftly as possible, and will continue to do so. I'm happy to update her in the house as we roll out those plans. Mr. speaker, let me be very clear.

There were two distinct and separate decisions over the weekend. The first decision was whether or not the United Kingdom should join the US. Israel offensive against Iran. We took the decision that we should not, we should not. The second decision was a separate decision and actually a separate request from the US, which was whether we should permit the use of bases for the distinct, specific defensive purpose of collective self-defence of our allies and to protect British lives which were put at risk by the actions of Iran on Saturday and Sunday.

We took the decision that we should do so. I am clear in my mind that any UK action must always have a lawful basis. It

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must also always have a viable and thought through plan. Yes.

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Yes. And it must be in our national

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And it must be in our national interests. Yes. The Leader of the Opposition, I think, is saying she would have joined the initial strikes, whether they whether

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whether they were lawful or not. Rolling your eyes. I noticed she didn't say the. The shadow attorney general said they would have been lawful, just that the law should be changed. Yes. And I think she said they would have joined the initial strikes without regard to whether they had a plan. She was very critical of us not joining sooner. Therefore, it's impossible to have that position without arguing that we should, and we could have joined.

I fundamentally disagree, and Mr. Speaker, I will tell the House why, where our military personnel take action, putting their lives at risk. It is our duty, my duty, to ensure they have a lawful basis. On Saturday. On Saturday, we deployed. We deployed UK pilots into the sky in the region and they've been working there ever since. They deserve to know that their actions are lawful and there is a viable thought through plan, and I will not countenance committing our military personnel to action which does not have a lawful basis.

That is, that is not a fair thing to do to our serving personnel. And no UK Prime Minister has ever committed our personnel to action unless it's got a proper, lawful basis. Thornberry.
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Ed Davey Portrait Rt Hon Ed Davey MP (Kingston and Surbiton, Liberal Democrat)
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Sir Ed Davey, leader of the Liberal Democrats. >> Minister for advance sight of his statement for my security briefing? Once again, President Trump has launched a unilateral and Trump has launched a unilateral and unlawful act. Ayatollah Khomeini was a brutal dictator and a monstrous war criminal. He monstrous war criminal. He supported Hamas and the October 7th atrocities, and he massacred thousands of his own people for daring to protest against decades of repression. I shed no tears for him, but instead I think of all the innocent Iranian civilians who've lost their lives.

I think of the US service personnel killed in action, our allies and partners in the region who are being outrageously targeted by Iran and our British bases, which have already faced attack. They did not choose this war. Donald Trump did, and he will bear responsibility for it. We have seen before what happens when an American president launches an illegal war with no idea how or when it is going to end, and we fear for what comes next. So in discussions with the White House, has the Prime Minister demanded to find out what Trump's plan is for? What comes next? Does the Prime Minister understand that when he fails to stand up to Trump, especially when he breaks international law, it makes our country less safe? And how will the Prime Minister be sure that defensive operations from UK bases will not become offensive? And in and in rightly protecting our allies in the region? Can we be assured by the Prime Minister that he won't follow Trump's lead down a slippery slope into a protracted conflict? And finally, Mr.

Speaker, we rightly expect our brave armed forces to protect British citizens around the world in crises like this. But that includes tax exiles like Isabel Oakeshott and washed up old footballers who mock ordinary people who stay in the UK and pay our taxes here. So as we protect them. Does the Prime Minister agree that it is only right for tax exiles to start paying taxes to fund our armed forces, just like the rest of us do?
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Keir Starmer Portrait Rt Hon Sir Keir Starmer MP, The Prime Minister (Holborn and St Pancras, Labour)
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Let me thank him for his question. This government does not believe in regime change from the believe in regime change from the skies, and I thank him for his question. The lessons of history question. The lessons of history have taught us that it is important when we make decisions like this, that we establish there is a lawful that we establish there is a lawful basis for what the United Kingdom is doing. That is one of the lessons from Iraq, and that there is a viable thought through plan with an objective that can be achieved or has a viable prospect of being achieved.

That is the principles that I apply to the decisions that I made over the weekend there, the principles I applied to, the decision not to get involved in the offensive strikes of the US and Israel. There are also the principles I applied separately to the separate decision, and a separate request from the US to be able to take defensive action in order to hit the launchers for the missiles that are currently going into allies countries in the region and currently threatening our citizens and our service personnel.

And I stand by both of those decisions. I repeat, I am not prepared to commit our military service people to action unless I am sure that what they are doing is lawful and has a viable basis. We can discuss what the law is on another occasion, but the law is what it is, and they deserve to know that their Prime Minister cares and pays attention to whether what I am asking them to do is lawful, and I will always do that.
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