Reform UK’s Robert Jenrick said his party did not think the UK should take part in offensive bombing raids over Iran but argued that the government should have let the US use UK bases “from the outset”.<\/p>\n
He told Kuenssberg that the “vacillation of the PM has damaged relations with the US significantly”.<\/p>\n
Speaking to Sky News, Conservative shadow home secretary Chris Philp accused the government of “a dereliction of duty” by failing to move warships to Cyprus or the Middle East ahead of the conflict. <\/p>\n
“The problem is, those ships as we speak, are nowhere near Cyprus. They’re nowhere near the Gulf,” Philp said.<\/p>\n
“They’re tied up at the docks in Portsmouth because Keir Starmer and the Labour government showed no foresight whatsoever, even though they knew three or four weeks ago that America planned this action against Iran, they did not move those ships into the region.”<\/p>\n
Earlier this week, a small drone struck runway at RAF Akrotiri, causing what the Ministry of Defence said was “minimal damage”.<\/p>\n
The Liberal Democrats have urged the government to “avoid getting sucked further into this illegal and damaging war”.<\/p>\n
HMS Dragon – which has air defence capabilities – is currently in Portsmouth but is being sent to the Mediterranean to bolster security around the RAF base in Akrotiri in Cyprus. It is not expected to set sail until next week.<\/p>\n