Keir Starmer accused Donald Trump of lacking a ‘viable, thought-through plan’ for the Iran war today as the Special Relationship went into meltdown.

The PM sounded defiance over his refusal to allow UK bases to be used for offensive strikes, insisting he was worried about ‘escalation’.

But Kemi Badenoch battered him at PMQs for failing to protect Britain’s personnel in the Middle East, and insisted Labour is splurging on benefits instead of ramping up defence spending. 

The comments came after Mr Trump fuelled alarm about the state of Transatlantic ties by condemning the premier as ‘disappointing’ and ‘no Churchill’.

Sir Keir said he wanted to act with ‘clarity, with purpose… the protection of UK nationals is our number one priority’.

The premier said that when the crisis erupted on Saturday he was not willing to ‘join a war unless I was satisfied there was a lawful basis and a viable thought through plan’. He added: ‘That remains my position.’

Mr Trump was incensed by Sir Keir’s initial refusal to let the US use UK bases for the joint attacks with Israel. 

That was later partially walked back by the PM under huge pressure, with ‘defensive’ actions permitted. There had been warnings that the US could simply use the bases anyway and dare Britain to stop them. 

Sir Keir again attempted to wash his hands of the military campaign in a speech to Muslims breaking their Ramadan fast last night.

Sir Keir – who has been desperately trying to shore up Labour’s left flank since the Greens inflicted an humiliating by-election defeat – also talked up his determination to get ‘justice’ for Gaza.  

Keir Starmer sounded defiance over his refusal to allow UK bases to be used for offensive strikes, insisting he was worried about ‘escalation’

The comments came after Donald Trump fuelled alarm about the state of the Special Relationship by condemning the premier as ‘no Churchill’

Sir Keir is also facing a huge backlash for failing to protect Britain’s base on Cyprus, which was hit by a suicide drone thought to have been fired by Tehran’s proxies late on Sunday night.

Embarrassingly, military minnow Greece will have warships in position to protect RAF Akrotiri days before the Royal Navy will be anywhere near the danger zone.

Emmanuel Macron has ordered a French frigate to the region, in a move that seemingly finally stung Sir Keir into action yesterday. 

Type 45 destroyer HMS Dragon is now being sent to Cyprus – but will not arrive for several days – along with helicopters that have counter-drone capabilities.

Sir Keir said in the Commons today: ‘This is obviously an extremely serious situation and I know the whole country is worried about the potential for escalation. They’re worried about the impact on their lives, particularly when they see what’s happening with energy.

‘The family and friends of those who are caught in the region will be worried sick about them and, of course, we’ve got civilians and military personnel at risk in the region.

‘We need to act therefore with clarity, with purpose and with a cool head.

‘The protection of UK nationals is our number one priority. We’re taking action to reduce the threat with planes in the sky in the region intercepting incoming strikes, deploying more capability to Cyprus, and allowing US planes to use UK bases to take out Iran’s capability to strike.

‘What I was not prepared to do on Saturday was for the UK to join a war unless I was satisfied there was a lawful basis and a viable, thought-through plan. That remains my position.’

Speaking at the Iftar – an event to mark breaking the Ramadan fast – in Westminster Hall last night, Sir Keir said: ‘The war in the Middle East did not begin last week… in Gaza most of all, we must not lose sight of them and the need for peace, justice and security in Palestine and Israel.’  

He added: ‘On Iran, I want to make clear the UK was not involved in the offensive strikes of the US and Israel, and that remains the case.’

Sir Keir stressed he opposed the Iraq war in 2003 and the UK needed to ‘learn the lessons’. But he said the ‘indiscriminate’ response from Iran had shifted the balance towards allowing bases to be used.

‘What we’re now doing is allowing our bases to be used for the defensive purposes of preventing those attacks and protecting innocent lives, because that is what we need to do to support our Middle Eastern allies who have asked us for support,’ he said.

Mr Trump said last night: ‘I’m not happy with the UK. This is not Winston Churchill that we’re dealing with.

‘Spain has been very, very uncooperative and so has the UK. The second one is shocking but this is not the age of Churchill.

‘The UK has been very, very uncooperative with that stupid island [Chagos]. That they gave away and took a 100-year lease… what’s that all about?’

His remarks will put fresh pressure on Sir Keir to abandon his controversial deal to hand the Chagos Islands, a British territory in the Indian Ocean, to China ally Mauritius, then lease back the crucial military base on Diego Garcia for £35billion.

But Downing Street said: ‘The work on Diego Garcia and the deal continues – we have been very clear about its value as a military asset to both the UK and the US, and that position hasn’t changed.’

No10 also claimed the US and UK remained ‘staunch allies’.

Nigel Farage insisted Britain joining the US in its war on Iran was a different situation to the Iraq war.

The Reform UK leader, who has criticised the UK joining the Iraq war alongside the US, told a central London press conference: ‘There are times to say no to the Americans, absolutely. We should have said no a couple of times in the last 25 years.

‘Of course, because Saddam Hussein didn’t pose any direct threat to this country, they had to invent a threat.

‘I would argue in the case of Iran, since October 7 this country has fundamentally changed as a result of terrorism funded by Iran.

‘Frankly, if this operation stops Iran getting a nuclear weapon, it would have been worth it. I believe that very, very strongly.

‘I’m really incredibly nervous about intervening in foreign wars, I believe it’s the right one.’

Keir Starmer made his latest attempt to wash his hands of the US president’s military campaign in a speech to Muslims breaking Ramadan fast last night

Type 45 destroyer HMS Dragon is now being sent to Cyprus – but will not arrive for several days – along with helicopters that have counter-drone capabilities

Questions have been asked as to why a British ship was not deployed to the Middle East sooner, given America had publicly been moving its arsenal into position for some time.

Former head of the Royal Navy, Admiral Lord West, said ‘Nelson will be spinning in his grave’ over Britain’s response and the state of the senior service, which has scarcely any active ships or submarines to send to a crisis anywhere in the world.

Shadow Armed Forces minister Mark Francois said: ‘Britannia once ‘ruled the waves’ rather than being tied up in port.

‘Why, given the US build-up has already been under way for weeks, are we only just sending one now? Why didn’t we dispatch one to the Med a fortnight ago?

‘It’s like Nelson turning up to Trafalgar a week late.’