Former British Prime Minister Sir Tony Blair has excoriated his Downing Street successor Sir Keir Starmer for having damaged the UK’s special relationship with the United States by refusing a military request from President Donald Trump.
Speaking at a Jewish News event over the weekend, Sir Tony Blair said that he believed it was a grave error for Prime Minister Starmer to have initially blocked the United States Military from using British bases to launch operations in Iran last weekend.
While Starmer ultimately U-turned and allowed the U.S. to use UK bases — albeit only for “defensive” purposes amid the Iran conflict — serious damage was done to the relationship with President Trump, who has publicly chastised the British leader on several occasions since.
Addressing the breakdown in cross-Atlantic ties, Sir Tony said per the Mail on Sunday: “I am not saying anything that I haven’t already said to the government… I think we should have backed America from the very beginning.
“We have got to be very clear about this as a country. We’re depending on the American alliance for our country. They are not just an ally, they are an indispensable ally, right?”
The former British Prime Minister, who spent much of his own political capital during his time in office in supporting President George W. Bush’s war in Iraq, noted that it was a relatively easy ask from the American administration.
“Every single time you test an alliance, you never test it when things are easy. You test it when it’s hard. They were asking to use our bases to refuel… it’s not like it was in Vietnam… not like the Iraq campaign where we had thousands of British troops,” he said.
“The American relationship matters. It matters particularly today. It’s not a question of whether it’s this president or that president. If they are your ally and they are an indispensable cornerstone for your security… You had better show up.”
Sir Tony also rejected that anti-war pressure from backbench MPs would have forced Prime Minister Starmer’s hand, saying: “People always complain….the problem for a leader is when you decide you divide… of course it’s difficult. In the end, most of the MPs will know that going into the election, it’s going to be decided on different things.
“On foreign policy, I think people would just prefer you to be strong and out there and clear, even if they don’t agree with you.”
Last week, President Trump openly vented about his anger with Starmer over his decision to block the U.S. from using British bases during the opening of Operation Epic Fury in Iraq, which the president noted may have been the first instance of the British ever turning down an American military request in the history of the alliance between the two countries.
Trump said that he was “very disappointed” with Starmer and later said of the British PM: “This is not Winston Churchill that we’re dealing with”.
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