As missiles and drones rain down on the Middle East and UK army bases… Green chief Polanski calls for Starmer STOP co-operating with US to take out Iran’s weapons

Green Party leader Zack Polanski today demanded the Prime Minister withdraw permission for the US to use British bases to strike Iranian missile sites.

Late on Sunday, Sir Keir Starmer said he had agreed to an American request to use UK bases to protect British nationals and allies in the Middle East.

It came as Iran continued to launch a barrage of missile and drone attacks across Cyprus, Kuwait, Qatar, Iraq, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain.

An RAF airfield in Cyprus was hit by a drone, while British troops saw a near miss in Bahrain, as Iran lashed out in the wake of US and Israeli strikes over the weekend.

The PM said he was allowing British bases to be used only for the ‘specific and limited defensive purpose’ of targeting Iran’s missile storage depots and launchers.

But Mr Polanski claimed Sir Keir was allowing the UK to be ‘dragged into another illegal war in the Middle East’.

‘Starmer must withdraw permission for the US to use UK bases to launch airstrikes on Iran and Parliament must be given a vote on any UK involvement,’ he added.

He also claimed the PM ‘will do anything Donald Trump wants – and it makes us all less safe’. 

It is not clear which UK bases will be used, but Mr Trump has previously referred to asking to use Diego Garcia, one of the Chagos Islands in the Indian Ocean.

The US President has also suggested America could use RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire, which can handle US heavy bombers.

Sir Keir’s decision followed a day of conversations with regional leaders, during which it is understood they asked the UK to do more to protect them from Iranian missiles.

The PM insisted the decision was fully in line with international law, and the Government has published a summary of its legal position setting out that it is acting in ‘collective self-defence’.

The UK will also continue to carry out the defensive operations that have already seen British forces shoot down Iranian drones threatening northern Iraq and Qatar.

In his criticism of Sir Keir’s action, Mr Polanski pointed to Sir Keir’s past promise – made during his Labour leadership campaign in 2020 – of ‘no more illegal wars’.

At the time, Sir Keir vowed to introduce a ‘Prevention of Military Intervention Act’ and to put ‘human rights at the heart of foreign policy’.

Mr Polanski said: ‘Keir Starmer of a few years ago wouldn’t have supported this war.’

It came after the Green leader faced a backlash for his comments in a TV interview on Sunday morning, in which he accused Mr Trump of operating in ‘the law of the jungle’ as he hit out at America’s ‘illegal and unprovoked’ strikes on Iran.

The self-described ‘eco-populist’ led Left-wing fury at the US and Israeli attacks, which have killed Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Mr Polanski claimed ‘international law is eroding before our very eyes’ and said there was ‘no example in history where you’ve bombed people to democracy’.

He added it was ‘absolutely outrageous’ that Sir Keir had condemned Iran for its action, but not ‘Israel and America that started the bombing in the first place’.

The Green leader, who has branded the US and Israel as ‘rogue states’, urged the PM to ‘get out on TV and condemn these illegal and unprovoked strikes’.

Mr Polanski, who saw his party win Thursday’s Gorton and Denton by-election, also claimed the UK should ‘disentangle’ itself from decades of military co-operation with the US.

Senior Tory MP Dame Priti Patel, the shadow foreign secretary, said Mr Polanski’s ‘wacky posturing’ was ‘reckless and a threat to our national security’.

Meanwhile, questions were asked about Green deputy leader Mothin Ali’s attendance at a ‘Stop The War’ protest in London on Saturday.

The demonstration in Parliament Square saw activists brandish placards showing a portrait of Khamenei, while others flew the tricolour flag of the Iranian regime featuring the emblem of the Islamic Republic of Iran.

Dame Priti said: ‘The Greens are once again proving they are not a responsible or serious political party.

‘After courting sectarian votes in Gorton and Denton, Polanski is now sowing further division by echoing rhetoric that undermines Britain’s national interest and pits communities against each other.

‘At a time when our national security and that of our allies is at stake, this kind of wacky posturing is reckless and a threat to our national security.

‘The Conservatives make no apology for supporting decisive action against Iran where it is necessary to protect our national security and uphold stability in the region.’

Labour MP David Taylor said: ‘How dare this absolute charlatan claim to be listening to and speaking up for the Iranian people, whilst doing anything but.

‘It was a shame he wasn’t asked why his deputy leader (Mr Ali) was present at a march where pro-regime chants, placards and flags were seen.’

Explaining why he attended Saturday’s protest, Mr Ali said: ‘I’m proudly anti-war. And to be anti-war that means looking to explore all possible diplomatic solutions.

‘The US and Israel took a unilateral decision in the midst of negotiations to kill the Iranian leader, and opted for war. This is deplorable.

‘I have always stood with ordinary people all over the world and that extends to the Iranian people and their quest for freedom.

‘But you can’t bomb a democracy into existence, the US and its proxies should have learned that lesson by now.’