Britain will not participate in a joint military campaign alongside the United States and Israel against Iran, Work and Pensions Secretary Pat McFadden has declared.
Speaking to GB News, Mr McFadden stated: “We’ve not sought to be protagonists in this war. The Prime Minister has made that clear from the beginning.”
The cabinet minister drew a clear distinction between different forms of military involvement, noting that safeguarding British citizens and military assets differs fundamentally from joining an offensive war.
“There’s a difference between defensive action to protect your citizens and your assets and being part of a joint war with the United States and Israel on this,” he explained.
Mr McFadden acknowledged that urgent governmental talks have taken place in recent days regarding support for households dependent on heating oil.
Those who heat their homes through mains gas and electricity benefit from the energy price cap for the coming months, he noted. However, heating oil users fall outside this protection.
“The people who heat their homes with heating oil do not have protection from the energy cap, and that’s why there have been urgent discussions in Government in recent days about what to do to help them,” Mr McFadden said.
Many affected households are located in Northern Ireland, rural Scotland and other countryside areas, where heating oil prices have approximately doubled within the past fortnight.
Pat McFadden has declared that the Government will not be ‘protagonists’ in the Middle Eastern conflict
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GB NEWS
Mr McFadden emphasised that stabilising energy costs remains in everyone’s interest, particularly given the price increases witnessed in recent weeks.
“The best way for that to happen is for this war to end as soon as possible,” he stated.
The duration of the conflict and its lasting impact on global energy markets remain uncertain, the minister acknowledged.
Mr McFadden indicated the Prime Minister will address both the military situation and measures to assist those struggling with rising energy costs during this briefing.
POOL
Questioned by GB News on the state of his relationship with Donald Trump, Sir Keir Starmer assured GB News Political Editor Christopher Hope that he still has a “good relationship” with the President.
He told GB News: “It’s a good relationship. We had a good discussion yesterday about the Straits, as you would expect. We’re strong allies, have been for decades, but it is for me to act in what I consider to be the best interests of Britain.
“I have to keep that uppermost in my mind, and it is interesting, for want of a better word, that those that two weeks ago were urging us to go headlong into the full blown war are beginning to have second thoughts about that. And there’s a reason for that.
“The problem, as I pointed out, the leader of the opposition last Wednesday said if you’re prime minister, you don’t get to come back a week later and say, oops, I made a mistake about that war. You have to make the decision that you genuinely believe is in the best interest of the British people from the get go.”
Mr McFadden told GB News that the Government has not sought to be the ‘protagonist’ in Iran’s war
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GB NEWS
Turning to the meningitis outbreak at a Kent university, Mr McFadden described the situation as a terrible tragedy that is causing deep concern for students, staff and their families.
He urged those in the affected area to consult the NHS website for information about symptoms.
“The public health authorities will be doing everything they can to try and quell this outbreak and to protect the people in and around the vicinity of the university,” Mr McFadden said.
The minister encouraged vigilance among the local community, noting that awareness of warning signs would be crucial as health officials work to contain the spread.