US air strikes on Iran were absolutely necessary, says Patel
The Conservative frontbencher pressed Foreign Office minister Hamish Falconer for details about the 'UK's response to the actions of the Iranian regime' in the Commons on Monday.
It followed Operation Midnight Hammer last month, an air raid when US defence forces attacked Iranian nuclear sites near Fordo, Natanz and Isfahan.
UK Attorney General Lord Hermer is reported to have raised legal concerns about any potential British involvement in the conflict beyond defending its allies.
'Two weeks have passed since the US air strikes against Iran's nuclear facilities,' shadow foreign secretary Dame Priti said.
'Does the minister have an assessment of their impact, and what is his response to the Iranian regime now prohibiting co-operation with the IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) and their inspectors leaving Iran?
'Given Tehran's refusal to co-operate, is the minister and the department in discussions with the partners about snapback sanctions being applied (by reinstating UN sanctions on Iran removed through the 2015 Iran nuclear deal) and other measures?
'Is he concerned that demonstrates that Iran will continue to pursue nuclear weapons and their entire programme?
'And with the information received from discussions with America, Israel and other intelligence partners, will the Government finally come off the fence about those strikes and agree with this side of the House that they were absolutely necessary?'
Mr Falconer replied: 'I won't provide, I'm afraid, a detailed commentary from the despatch box on the extent of damage from the strikes, for reasons that I'm sure (Dame Priti) and the rest of the House will understand.
'I can confirm we are in discussions about the snapback mechanisms. As the Prime Minister (Sir Keir Starmer) has said, as the Foreign Secretary (David Lammy) has said, as I have said, we cannot see Iran get a nuclear weapon – snapback is an important lever.
'We're talking with our E3 partners and indeed the Americans about what role snapback can play.
'We hope to see a diplomatic solution. That is ultimately the most enduring way to ensure that Iran does not get a nuclear weapon, but we will continue to consider all diplomatic tools including snapback.'
Andrew Murrison referred to comments which Defence Secretary John Healey made on social media website X, when the Cabinet minister said the 'US has taken action to alleviate the grave threat that Iran poses to global security'.
The Conservative MP for South West Wiltshire told the Commons: 'The Defence Secretary correctly has said that Operation Midnight Hammer has alleviated a grave threat, but the Attorney General appears to be less clear and wonders if it was illegal, whilst the Prime Minister and the Foreign Secretary appear to sit on the fence.
'Sorry to put the minister on the spot – does he agree with the Attorney General or with the Defence Secretary?'
Mr Falconer replied: 'The Defence Secretary and the Attorney General are doing rather different roles, and I don't think they're in disagreement – and in any case, collective responsibility would bind them both and indeed me.'
The Foreign Office minister, whose portfolio includes the Middle East, Afghanistan and Pakistan, also referred to a 'gap' in the law which independent reviewer of state threats legislation Jonathan Hall identified in a 2025 report.
Mr Hall recommended that the Government should be able to issue 'statutory alert and liability threat notices' against foreign intelligence services.
'By way of example, this strong power would be available for use against the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps', he wrote, referring to the Iran-backed organisation.
It would be a 'new proscription-type power', similar to existing terrorism legislation used to ban organisations such as Hamas and National Action, the reviewer said.
When Labour MP for Newcastle-under-Lyme Adam Jogee asked Mr Falconer to 'elaborate a little more on what that means', the minister replied: 'A state in this case has proved a persistent threat in the UK using methods unlike those usually employed by a state.'
He said the Government was 'seeking to fill' the gap in the law.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
23 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Reeves says rulings on tax must wait for Budget amid inheritance tax speculation
Rachel Reeves has said that decisions around taxes will have to wait for the autumn Budget, amid reports that the Treasury is looking to raise more money from inheritance tax. The Chancellor told reporters that decisions will be made 'in the round' and her priority 'is to get our economy firing off all cylinders'. Earlier this week, the Guardian reported that officials are examining whether tightening rules around the gifting of assets and money could help address the UK's multi-billion-pound fiscal shortfall. Government U-turns over winter fuel payments and welfare reform have left Chancellor Rachel Reeves with a multibillion-pound spending gap to about the reports on Thursday, Ms Reeves said: 'Any decision around taxation is a … decision for the Budget, and I'll make those announcements. 'We haven't even set the date yet for the Budget, but the key focus of the Budget is going to be to build on numbers that we've seen today to boost productivity and growth and prosperity all across the country. 'That is my number one priority as Chancellor, to get our economy firing off all cylinders so that working people in all parts of the country will feel the benefits of that economic growth.' Pushed on whether taxes will have to increase in the autumn, Ms Reeves added: 'We'll wait for the official forecast from the Office of Budget Responsibility, and we'll make those decisions in the round.' Among the reported inheritance tax measures under consideration is a potential cap on lifetime gifts, part of a broader review into how assets can be transferred before death to minimise inheritance tax liabilities. Under current UK rules, gifts made more than seven years before a person's death are exempt from inheritance tax. Gifts made between three and seven years prior are taxed on a sliding scale, depending on their value and the total estate. The Chancellor was speaking as new official figures show that the UK economy slowed in the second quarter of this year amid pressure from tariff uncertainty and tax increases. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said gross domestic product (GDP) grew by 0.3% for the quarter after 0.7% growth in the first three months of the year. However, the figure was stronger than the 0.1% level widely expected by economists after an uptick in activity in June and revised data for earlier in the quarter.
Associated Press
25 minutes ago
- Associated Press
Zelenskyy to meet with UK's Starmer as Europe braces for Trump-Putin summit
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer is expected to welcome Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in London Thursday morning, the latest meeting between the Ukrainian leader and the head of a European country as the continent braces for a critical U.S.-Russia summit in Alaska on Friday. Zelenskyy's trip to the British capital comes a day after he took part in virtual meetings from Berlin with U.S. President Donald Trump and the leaders of several European countries. Those leaders said Trump had assured them he would make a priority of trying to achieve a ceasefire in Ukraine when he meets with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday in Anchorage. Both Zelenskyy and the Europeans have worried the bilateral U.S.-Russia summit would leave them and their interests sidelined, and that any conclusions reached could favor Moscow and leave Ukraine and Europe's future security in jeopardy with Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine now in its fourth year. Yet some of those leaders, like German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and French President Emmanuel Macron, praised Wednesday's video conference with Trump as constructive. Speaking after the meetings to reporters, Trump warned of 'very severe consequences' for Russia if Putin does not agree to stop the war against Ukraine after their Friday meeting. Territorial integrity Starmer on Wednesday said the Alaska summit would be 'hugely important,' and could be a 'viable' path to a ceasefire in Ukraine. But he also alluded to European concerns that Trump may strike a deal that forces Ukraine to cede territory to Russia, and warned that Western allies must be prepared to step up pressure on Russia if necessary. During a call Wednesday among leaders of countries involved in the 'coalition of the willing' — those who are prepared to help police any future peace agreement between Moscow and Kyiv — Starmer stressed that any deal reached on bringing the fighting to an end must protect the 'territorial integrity' of Ukraine. 'International borders cannot be, and must not be changed by force, and again that's a long-standing principle of this group,'' he said. 'And alongside that, any talk about borders, diplomacy, ceasefire has to sit alongside a robust and credible security guarantee to ensure that any peace, if there is peace, is lasting peace and Ukraine can defend its territorial integrity as part of any deal.' Some Ukrainians skeptical With another high-level meeting on their country's future on the horizon, some Ukrainians expressed skepticism that any breakthroughs would be achieved during Friday's U.S.-Russia summit. Oleksandra Kozlova, 39, a department head at a digital agency in Kyiv, told The Associated Press on Wednesday that she believes Ukrainians 'have already lost hope' that meaningful progress can be made on ending the 3 1/2-year-old war. 'I don't think this round will be decisive,' she said. 'There have already been enough meetings and negotiations promising us, ordinary people, that something will be resolved, that things will get better, that the war will end. Unfortunately, this has not happened, so personally I don't see any changes coming.' Anton Vyshniak, a car salesman in Kyiv, said Ukraine's priority now should be saving the lives of its military servicepeople, even at the expense of making territorial concessions. 'At the moment, the most important thing is to preserve the lives of male and female military personnel. After all, there are not many human resources left,' he said. 'Borders are borders, but human lives are priceless. Therefore, some principles can be disregarded here.' Russia and Ukraine trade strikes Russian strikes in Ukraine's Sumy region overnight Wednesday resulted in numerous injuries, Ukrainian regional officials said. A missile strike on a village in the Seredyna-Budska community injured a 7-year-old girl and a 27-year-old man, according to regional governor Oleh Hryhorov. The girl was hospitalized in stable condition. In the southern Kherson region, Russian artillery fire struck the village of Molodizhne on Thursday morning, injuring a 16-year-old boy, regional governor Oleksandr Prokudin said. The teenager suffered an explosive injury, shrapnel wounds to his arms and legs and an acute stress reaction. He was hospitalized in moderate condition, Prokudin said. In Russia, an oil refinery in the Volgograd region caught fire after a Ukrainian drone attack overnight, according to local governor Andrei Bocharov. The refinery, one of the biggest producers of petroleum products in southern Russia, has been a frequent target of drone attacks, according to Russian independent news site Meduza. Overall, Russia's Defense Ministry reported destroying 44 Ukrainian drones over Russian regions and the annexed Crimea overnight. In Belgorod, the biggest city in the namesake region on the border with Ukraine, three civilians were injured in a Ukrainian drone attack, Gov. Vyacheslav Gladkov said, adding that a government building was hit by the attack. ___ Follow AP's coverage of the war in Ukraine at
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Debt-laden Italy now better for living standards than Britain
Britain's living standards fell behind those in Italy for the first time since 2001 in a fresh blow to Rachel Reeves's efforts to boost economic growth and renew the nation's competitiveness. Slow growth, rising worklessness and high inflation are all damaging Britain, raising fears that the UK is losing its status as a rich nation at the same as Italy shakes off its image as an economic basket case. Once adjusted for the cost of living, GDP per capita – a critical measure of wellbeing, and a favoured target of Sir Keir Starmer's Government - is now higher in Italy than Britain. According to the World Bank, Italy's GDP per capita rose to $60,847 (£44,835) last year, overtaking Britain's $60,620. It comes as unemployment rose to 4.7pc in the UK, spending on benefits balloons and inflation is forecast to hit 4pc – double the Bank of England's target – in the coming months. Britain's population is also rising rapidly, meaning GDP is stretched over a larger number of people. By contrast Italy's is shrinking, so even as its economy grows at roughly the same pace as the UK's, GDP per capita is rising more quickly as output is concentrated among fewer people. It comes despite Italy's Government debt of around 130pc of GDP – far above Britain's debt of around 100pc. In its manifesto last year, the Labour party promised to 'kickstart economic growth to secure the highest sustained growth in the G7 – with good jobs and productivity growth in every part of the country making everyone, not just a few, better off'. The Government has since indicated that GDP per head may be a target measure. But on the World Bank's measure, adjusted for living costs, Britain has fallen from fifth to sixth place among the group of seven major democracies, with only Japan further down the rankings. A study from the National Institute of Economic and Social Research earlier this year warned that 'economic stagnation over the past decade is now threatening the UK's position as a place for a high standard of living.' The think tank found the poorest Britons are now worse off than the lowest-income households in countries, including Lithuania and Slovenia, countries once considered far from rich but which are now increasingly prosperous. Efforts to reform the British economy have struggled even as Italy has had more success. Labour's attempts to trim welfare spending and encourage more claimants back to work resulted in a backbench rebellion and a humiliating U-turn. The Chancellor is expected to refocus her efforts on boosting productivity growth ahead of her Budget in the autumn, as she seeks ways to fill a hole of as much as £50bn in the public finances. By contrast economists have hailed Italian prime minister Giorgia Meloni's reforms. Holger Schmieding, chief economist at Berenberg Bank, said Italy had 'outperformed' expectations. 'Italy has cut welfare entitlements under Meloni, so that people have more incentive to work instead of resting idle,' he said, adding that judicial reforms have also made progress. Extra subsidies for home renovations also provided a remarkable boost to Italy's economy, as has EU spending under an economic recovery fund known as the Next Generation programme. The scale of the shift in relative prosperity is significant, both as a sign of Britain's decline and Italy's revival. Andrew Kenningham, from Capital Economics, said it could be comparable with 'Il sorpasso' – the overtaking – of the late 1980s when Italy's economy became bigger than Britain's. That was taken as a sign Italy had finally shrugged off its reputation for stagnation – though it regained that status in the years following the eurozone's sovereign debt crisis. Once again Italy has pushed past Britain, though the UK's GDP remains larger overall. 'It tells us that Italian and British citizens are equally well off in terms of what they can purchase. Average living standards are in principle the same, or in Italy very slightly higher now,' Mr Kenningham said. Italians also have a higher life expectancy than Britons. The country has become increasingly attractive to wealthy households from Britain as investors, entrepreneurs and non-doms seek shelter from rising taxes in the UK and instability elsewhere. 'Of all major countries in Europe, politically Italy is by far the most stable. This is unusual – it is not the history of Italy – but compared to politics in the UK, France, Spain and Germany, Italy looks good,' Mr Schmieding said. 'It has a stable, steady government which is not doing as much as it should, but is not doing anything seriously wrong, which is something you cannot say about many other countries.' Yet for its success, Italy's economy still has its problems. Paolo Grignani, from Oxford Economics, warned that the cash dished out with the renovation 'superbonus' – which gives homeowners tax credits for renovating their houses – 'led to a fiscal imbalance that will take years for the Italian government to rectify,' while construction has slowed since the scheme ended. At the same time, Italian wages are not yet back above pre-Covid levels after adjusting for inflation, he said, unlike those in the UK. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more. Sign in to access your portfolio
