SHADOW Foreign Secretary Dame Priti Patel has said that the Prime Minister failed to leverage British influence in the Middle East during the Iran conflict.
She told GB News: “This whole issue with the Strait of Hormuz, is very, very concerning. And let’s not forget that, before the war, this was an international waterway under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea.
“So it’s just preposterous to think that there’s even any suggestion of tolling, and that will have enormous impacts.
“The whole conflict has obviously tied up so many ships right now. It’s having enormous consequences for every country in the world. So it’s clear that we need to find a resolution here. There’s no doubt about that.
“The British government is right now to say that there should be no tolling. Well, that’s a statement of the obvious. I think what we actually need to see is some substance from the British government.
“You’ve just shown images of Keir Starmer arriving in the United Arab Emirates, a country where we have deep ties, long-standing relationships. It’s also a country that basically felt let down by Britain when the war started, when this conflict started, because they basically felt that we were not putting shoulder to the wheel and protecting a quarter of a million British nationals in the region, but also our military bases, our personnel and effectively doing enough to support them as our ally too.”
She added: “Nobody’s clear about what Keir Starmer is doing whatsoever. He’s just dithered when it comes to every single international situation since his time as Prime Minister. And I think we should recognise the fact that he was absent when this conflict started.
“As I said, our allies in the Gulf, ranging from the UAE, from Qatar, where we have a base, from Bahrain, where we also have military base and personnel too, who were there at the time. We were not there doing our utmost to protect our allies, our bases, and British nationals in the region.
“He’s now turning up as an afterthought when, quite frankly, weeks later, this whole conflict has moved on. He never leveraged British influence at all.
“In the same way, let’s not forget, when we had the Gaza issue and a board of peace was established as well. Where was Britain when it came to diplomacy and dialogue? Britain was absent, all it effectively did was get a megaphone of condemnation out of Israel every five minutes.
“This is no way to demonstrate leadership on the world stage. So you know, there are serious questions for Keir Starmer. The fact that he’s abroad, he’s talking to allies, obviously, that is welcome, but the reality right now is that you have to put your money where your mouth is, and we’re still waiting.
“Today, there’s a big defence conference taking place in London. Why isn’t he there speaking, why isn’t he there talking about the defence investment plan, backing NATO, putting more money into our defence and our national security?
“That’s what we need to see from a prime minister, and that’s what I would define as leadership.”
