Sir Keir Starmer has been slammed for making the “wrong decision” after he denied Donald Trump use of the shared UK-US Diego Garcia military base to launch strikes on Iran.
On Thursday, Whitehall insiders revealed Washington was refusing to budge on its view on the Chagos deal unless Britain gives the green light to the US using the base, The Telegraph reported.
The President is believed to have requested the use of the military base on the islands in the Maldives in the case America intended to launch strikes on Tehran.
The Republican had threatened such action on the Islamic regime if it refused to negotiate to ditch its nuclear programme – but No10 was hesitant over fears of a headache spurred on by the possible breach of international law.
Now, after the President ploughed on with his plans and launched strikes on Iran this morning, Sir Michael Ellis, a former Attorney General of England and Wales, condemned the Prime Minister’s earlier decision – and said it was “perfectly lawful” in pursuit of self-defence.
On Downing Street’s decision, the legal expert told GB News: “I don’t think it was the right decision. No.
“And previous Governments have clearly allowed the use of the British Indian Ocean Territory to strike at Iran where necessary.”
He added it was “perfectly lawful” to deploy military assets for self defence – but also the defence of others, specifically those being “savagely” killed under the Iranian Ayatollah.
Sir Michael condemned Sir Keir reportedly refusing Mr Trump from using the base as a launchpad for strikes on Iran
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“We know that thousands of Iranian civilians, perhaps tens of thousands, some reports say up to 43,000 Iranian civilians was savagely killed only a few weeks ago by the Iranian regime, using military grade weapons against young protesters.
“So the defence of others is also a lawful reason for the use of military force under Article 51 of the United Nations Charter.”
Sir Michael, who served as the Attorney General in 2022, emphasised the importance of the base on the remote archipelago.
Under a 1966 agreement between the US and the UK, Americans are required to acquire British consent for the use of their forces on the base.
The USS Abraham Lincoln was spotted in the Arabian Sea just last week
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“There are some reports that the Americans intend to go ahead and use it without permission, but that remains to be seen,” the lawyer claimed.
Speaking about the strategic nature of the base, he continued: “One of its great values is the fact that it’s 2,000 miles away is extremely remote.
“It’s either outside the range of Iranian missiles or nearly outside the range. There are no civilians there, and it’s a very valuable asset and useful assets for the Americans to deploy and has been used before.”
Since last week, the USS Abraham Lincoln, a gigantic “mini floating city” warship, has ben spotted in the Arabian Sea off the coast of Oman.
The aircraft carrier is one of the largest in the world – home to somewhere between 75 and 90 warplanes and a cocktail of missiles, including Tomahawk land missiles.
“So that warship alone, together with its support vessels, represents an enormous fighting force. And that’s not even half of it.
“The USS Gerald Ford is in the eastern Mediterranean and over a dozen US warships are believed to be in the proximity of the region, so an enormous range of firepower has been assessed in the area over recent weeks.
“The United States has clearly decided, after nearly half a century of the Iranian regime, that they are going to do everything they can now to decapitate the regime and bring it up its hegemony in the region to an end.”