Tories say they would support UK joining fight against Iran if Starmer deems it necessary
Update:
Date: 2025-06-19T07:44:31.000Z
Title: Patel: Tories would support UK joining fight against Iran if Starmer deems it necessary
Content: Shadow foreign secretary Priti Patel said the Conservative party would support the government in joining the military fight against Iran if it was deemed necessary, reports the PA news agency.
Asked whether she would agree if the UK joined the offensive, she told Good Morning Britain:
While we want peace in the region, we're crystal clear that Iran should not be able to obtain nuclear weapons.
And if the government judges that such action is necessary to avoid that then we would absolutely support the government if it deemed it necessary to ensure that we can defend our country, our citizens and effectively a lot of our strategic equities in the Middle East region.
She said she believed the opposition would be able to hold the government to account without a vote in parliament on such a decision.
Meanwhile, energy minister Miatta Fahnbulleh said that Keir Starmer will be a 'cool, calm head' guided by international law in response to the Israel-Iran crisis.
According to the PA news agency, Fahnbulleh told Times Radio:
Legal advice is for the prime minister, and I think that's where it will stay and you can understand why I won't comment on that. But what I will say is that we have a prime minister who is a lawyer and a human rights lawyer, he will obviously do everything that is in accord with international law.
No one wants an escalation. No one wants this to erupt into a major conflict in the region that is hugely destabilising for every country involved and for us, globally. So the most important role that the prime minister can play, and is playing, is to be that cool, calm head, to urge all partners around the negotiating table and to find a diplomatic route out of this.
The attorney general, Richard Hermer, is reported to have raised concerns about any potential UK involvement in the conflict beyond defending its allies, something which could limit any support for the US if Donald Trump decides to bomb Iranian nuclear sites.
Patel also told Good Morning Britain that the government needs to 'step up' the evacuation of British nationals in Israel. She said:
I think the current government's response is not sufficient and if families of embassy staff and personnel are being evacuated then I think the same facilities must be extended to our citizens.
More on all of the above in a moment, but first, here are some other developments:
The UK government will have to sign off on the US use of its Diego Garcia base in any bombing raid on Iran, it has emerged, as ministers gathered to discuss a range of scenarios amid further increasing tensions in the region. The prime minster chaired an emergency Cobra meeting to discuss the UK's response to the crisis in the Middle East which could escalate further should the US enter the conflict between Israel and Iran.
The foreign secretary is scheduled to meet his US counterpart in Washington. David Lammy and secretary of state Marco Rubio will discuss the Middle East as potential American involvement in the conflict looms.
The MP behind the assisted dying bill will be joined by bereaved and terminally ill people as she makes her case for a change in the law before a crucial vote on Friday. Kim Leadbeater is expected to re-state her argument that dying people must be given choice at the end of their lives, but opponents of her bill have warned it fails to guarantee protections for society's most vulnerable.
Britain's benefits system faces collapse without cuts to disability payments, Liz Kendall has said, as the government published plans that put it on a collision course with dozens of angry Labour MPs.
Ministers will restart the approval process for two controversial oilfields on Thursday, even as new figures show the UK will be almost entirely dependent on foreign gas by 2050 regardless of whether they are approved.
The Bank of England is predicted to keep UK interest rates at 4.25% on Thursday amid rising food inflation and the threat of surging oil prices pushing up the cost of living. Most economists think the Bank of England's monetary policy committee (MPC) will opt to keep rates on hold when it meets on Thursday.
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