Starmer reaffirms UK’s commitment to not join Iran conflict, saying ‘this is not our war’ – UK politics live | Politics
Starmer reaffirms commitment not to join Iran conflict, saying ‘this is not our war’
Going back to the Iran war, Starmer says the UK has allowed its bases to be used “for the purposes of collective self-defence”.
But he goes on:
double quotation mark But this is not our war, and we are not getting dragged into this war. So that’s the divide that I’ve kept very firmly in place.
Key events
Starmer says more countries are backing the statement on reopening the strait of Hormuz issued by the UK and other countries last week.
double quotation mark It’s becoming a bigger group of countries that are committed to working on de-escalation as far as the straits are concerned, which is hugely important for our economy more generally.
Starmer reaffirms commitment not to join Iran conflict, saying ‘this is not our war’
Going back to the Iran war, Starmer says the UK has allowed its bases to be used “for the purposes of collective self-defence”.
But he goes on:
double quotation mark But this is not our war, and we are not getting dragged into this war. So that’s the divide that I’ve kept very firmly in place.
Chi Onwurah is asking the questions now.
Q: People voted for Brexit partly because they were worried about losing sovereignty to the EU. Do you think people might feel the same way about US tech giants?
Starmer says he does not want to reopen the Brexit debate. He says there has been a reset in relations with the EU.
On tech, he says the UK has for a long time had a close relationship with the US on issues of defence and security.
(He does not engage with the substance of what Onwurah is asking.)
Q: Are you worried the government is too dependent on Palantir?
Starmer says all the contracts, like those issued to Palantir, go through “a very careful, process”.
Jenkin asks Starmer why the Polish president is saying his country should pull out of Safe because he thinks it would be cheaper for his country to borrow the money itself.
Starmer says he does not know about this, but says he will look into it.
Starmer says he has not given up hope of UK joining EU’s Safe defence procurement loan scheme
Q: Do you think the UK will be able to join the EU’s Safe defence procurement loan scheme?
Starmer says he is talking to the EU about this.
He says some EU countries were “disappointed” that the UK was not included. He says there have been “intensive discussions” about resolving this.
Liam Byrne goes next. He puts it to Starmer that the cost of improving the electricity grid should come off energy bills, and should be paid for instead through general taxation.
Starmer says all this should be kept under review. But he says firms and individuals would still end up paying the cost that way.
Bernard Jenkin comes in again. He says the government has an “ideological bias against exploiting our own natural gas resources”.
Starmer does not accept that. But he says decisions have to be made in accordance with the law.
In response to a question from Jamie Stone, Starmer says he cannot comment on proposals to extend drilling in the Jackdaw and Rosebank fields in the North Sea because they are subject to quasi-judicial proceeedings. He goes on:
double quotation mark But oil and gas will be part of the mix for a long time to come.
Talking about the need to boost renewable energy production, Starmer confirms he is spending a lot of time working on plans to modernise the electricity grid. “When I came into politics in 2015. I never thought I’d spend so much of my time talking about the grid,” he says. But it is vital, he says. He says the government is making “real progess” upgrading it.
Starmer hints further energy support might be targeted, not universal, as he stresses cost of Tories’ universal energy bailout
Q: In terms of helping people out with energy bills, are you looking at targeted support, or a universal offer?
Starmer says ministers will discuss this later at Cobra.
double quotation mark We’re looking this afternoon at the approach we might take, acutely aware of how much it cost last time round. And I’m acutely aware of the state of the public finances. We will look this afternoon at what the appropriate approach is.There are difficulties in that. We don’t yet know the extent of the challenge we’re facing because we don’t know when this conflict is going to come to an end. But we’re actively looking at what measures we can put in place.
Although non-commital, Starmer’s reference to costs implies the government would opt for a tareted approach, not a universal one.
Jeremy Hunt, who was chancellor when the Tories finalised their energy support package in 2022, has recently said Starmer should go for a targeted model, not a universal one of the kind he implemented.
Q: Are you going to follow Richard Walker’s advice and impose a cap on profit for energy companies?
Starmer says he has seen this proposal. But he implies his priority is to get the Competition and Makets Authority to address profiteering.
Jenkin says the way war fought has changed enormously in the past 12 months.
Starmer says he knows that.
Jenkin says the Ukrainians want to be able to help with the supply of drones for the Middle East, but are being held up by the absence of a defence investment plan.
Starmer does not accept that. He says he spoke to President Zelenskyy about this only last week. He goes on:
double quotation mark Just for the record, he did not say that anything that they want to do is being held up by anything the UK is doing. On the contrary, he sees us as their foremost ally and I’m very pleased that we’ve been able to achieve that, actually, on a cross-party basis.
Q: Why was Cyprus left undefended?
Starmer does not accept that it was.
He says the defence investment plan is being finalised.
Jenkin says this answer “smacks of enormous complacency”.
Starmer replies:
double quotation mark This smacks of the fact that for years there was underinvestment by the last government, and the stripping out and hollowing out of our armed forces.
Starmer accused by Tory Bernard Jenkin of not accepting UK in effect already at war
Bernard Jenkin goes next. He says it is “ludicrous” to suggest that the delay in the publication of the defence investment plan is not holding up procurement.
Starmer says he wants to ensure investment is sustainable. He goes on:
double quotation mark Everybody now accepts that the last government didn’t invest anything like enough, in our defence. And we’re picking that up and turning it around.But what I’m not going to do is put a plan that I can’t explain exactly how it’s going to be funded.
Jenkin says the Treasury does not seem to appreciate the urgency for this. He says:
double quotation mark We are already at war, and we need to be in a war fighting mentality to deal with the emergencies that we’re facing.
Starmer says he accepts that. But he says he needs to know where the investment is coming from.
double quotation mark But I’m also clearing up the mess that I’ve inherited because we can’t go on in the way that [I saw had been happening] when I opened the books and saw the way this has been done for years.
Jenkin criticises Starmer for being party political. He says the UK needs to be on a war footing now, and it isn’t.
Starmer says the strategic defence review will put the UK on a war footing.
Jenkin says Starmer sounds as if he does not realise the UK is at war now.
Starmer replies:
double quotation mark I’m clearing up the mess that I inherited from the last government.
Jenkin says Churchill probably thought he had inherited a mess from his predecessor too.
Q: What are you doing on MoD recruitment?
Starmer replies:
double quotation mark We are turning around the recruitment, and we’re now recruiting at a higher rate than was previously the case, holding on to people and retaining people for longer.
Starmer says he does not want to see Type 31 frigate orders delayed
Patricia Ferguson goes next.
Q: Are the reports true about Type 31 frigate orders being delayed?
Starmer says he does not want delays.
double quotation mark And that’s why I’m insisting that there shouldn’t be any delays in the order. It’s really important that those orders continue in the way that is expected.
Q: When will the defence investment plan be published?
Starmer says the government is “working hard to finalise it”.
