Watch the moment GB News host Ellie Costello brutally shuts down a Labour MP after defending Sir Keir Starmer’s approach to the Iran war.
Speaking to the People’s Channel, Chief Secretary to the Treasury James Murray declared he is “proud” of the Prime Minister’s handling of the conflict.
In a statement posted to social media on Tuesday, Sir Keir confirmed the UK will send air defence destroyer HMS Dragon to protect British military personnel in Cyprus.
Denying that Cyprus base RAF Akrotiri has so far been left “undefended”, Mr Murray assured that there has been “defensive capability being built up recently”.
He told GB News: “The Prime Minister has taken a decision, and I’m proud of the way that he’s approached it, because it’s a really significant, important decision that he’s been taking over the last few days when it comes to putting our armed forces into conflict and the impact it might have on the UK.
“In recent weeks, we’ve been making sure there are F-35 jets there in our bases in Cyprus, Typhoon fighters in Qatar, the radar capability as well.
“All of these defensive capabilities have been building up in recent weeks, so they build on what’s there already.”
Arguing that the deployment of HMS Dragon could take “up to a fortnight” to arrive in Cyprus, host Stephen Dixon pressed the Labour MP on whether Britain is merely a “laughing stock” in this war.
James Murray has been grilled by host Ellie Costello after declaring he is ‘proud’ of Keir Starmer’s approach to Iran
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GB NEWS
Mr Murray disagreed, stating: “No we’re not. HMS Dragon and Wildcat helicopters are going to be out there as soon as possible, but they build on the defensive capability that we’ve been increasing in recent weeks.
“There’s actually a broader point here which is that we are increasing investment in our defence capabilities to levels which we haven’t seen since the Cold War.
“We’re going to hit 2.6 per cent of GDP next year, we’ve got the ambition to hit three per cent in the next parliament and that’s because of the decisions the Chancellor has taken about increasing the amount of investment going into defence over this Parliament.”
Interjecting Mr Murray, host Ellie Costello argued: “But that’s not going to cut it, is it, because this is happening right now?!”
Keir Starmer has confirmed HMS Dragon and helicopters with counter-drone capabilities will be deployed to Cyprus | X / KEIR STARMER
Arguing that there are “two sides to the coin” in their approach to defending Britain, Mr Murray responded: “One is about what we’re doing now, which is about getting the defensive capabilities into the region, making sure that’s in place to protect British nationals and the Prime Minister taking the right, wise decision whilst not getting involved in offensive strikes.
“We’re getting involved in defensive defensive actions to protect British nationals and at the same time, I’m setting out what we’re doing over the course of this Parliament, because we know we need to invest more in our military to prepare us for the future.”
Delivering his verdict on US President Donald Trump’s remarks, where he declared he is “not happy” with the lack of UK support, Mr Murray reaffirmed that the decisions made by Sir Keir were on the basis of “national interest”.
He told GB News: “President Trump has expressed his disagreement with the decision that we took about not getting involved in those initial strikes, but the Prime Minister took that decision on the basis of our national interest and what is in our national interest.
Mr Murray told GB News that Keir Starmer took the ‘cool-headed decision’ to protect Britons
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GB NEWS
“And on that basis, he decided not to get involved in the initial strikes. But then when, as a result of those strikes, Iran started to attack other countries in the region and British nationals, the Prime Minister took the decision that we would be involved in those defensive actions, which is absolutely right, and what I think the British people would expect.”
Pushing back on Mr Murray’s argument, host Stephen Dixon pointed out that he suggested the Prime Minister “decided he was going to sit back and see what happened, and then decided to put in some sort of strategic defence”.
Disagreeing with Stephen, the Labour MP hit back: “Sorry, no, that’s not that’s not correct. Because as I said earlier, the defensive capability has been built up in recent weeks to make sure we have defensive capability in the region.
“We are now increasing that further, and that’s put us in a position where the Prime Minister has taken the cool-headed decision to not get involved in the offensive strikes, but to step up and make sure we are protecting British nationals when they are at risk.”