The Shadow Defence Secretary has criticised Sir Keir Starmer for failing to clearly state his position on US military strikes against Iran's nuclear facilities, saying there is "no risk-free solution".
James Cartlidge questioned whether the Prime Minister actually supports the military action taken by the United States over the weekend.
On Saturday, US forces struck Iran's three main nuclear sites, and President Donald Trump warned it would face more devastating attacks if it does not agree to peace.
Cartlidge told GB News: “I said [on Wednesday] that, in principle, if the US and Israelis came forward and said, 'look, based on the intelligence we've seen, we think we now need to take decisive military action if we want to stop an Iranian nuclear weapons programme' we would support that.
The minister said Keir Starmer must 'be clear on his stance on military action'
GB NEWS
“And so that's our position. We support what's happened, and obviously now need to see what happens next. There is a big question about the Prime Minister's position. It's just not clear what he actually thinks of the attacks.
“If you look at the language he's talking about recognising the action has happened, that he's spoken to the President, [but] does he actually support the actual military action?
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“Because, let's be clear, lots of people recognise that Iran can't be allowed to have a nuclear, a military nuclear, program but at the same time, it's not clear what the action is that they would take to deal with that.
“It's all well and good to say, diplomacy, diplomacy. And obviously, in an ideal world, that's how we would want to see this resolved.
“But we have heard that the level of enrichment is now getting higher, and there's intelligence from the US and Israel that they need to move, then I think in that situation we should be supporting military action, which is what we want to see from the Prime Minister’s leadership at this important time.
“We all want to see de-escalation. And what we mean by that is the US has taken this action, very decisive, major strikes using these extraordinary munitions, obviously. Now people are speculating about potential retaliation by Iran and so on.
On Saturday US forces struck Iran's three main nuclear sites
PA“I think the key thing here is they do need to return to negotiations, focusing on how they have a civil nuclear program and measures, robust measures, in place so they don't develop nuclear weapons. That's been the ask right from the beginning.
“Let's remember that they have a right to participate in civil nuclear. It's about them developing nuclear weapons and I just want to say a key point, because I think a lot of people will be a little bit concerned in the public about any potential impact of what's happened, any retaliation.
“There's no risk-free solution in this. If you don't want Iran to have nuclear weapons, there's no way of dealing with that without risk let's not forget our own naval ships were attacked by the Houthis with weapons, ballistic missiles, drones and so on, supplied by Iran, a very direct threat to this country.”
WATCH: Keir Starmer reacts to US strikes on Iran
Starmer warned earlier on Sunday of a “risk of escalation” to the Middle East and beyond the region after the US bombed three Iranian facilities.
He said he wanted to reassure people that “we're doing everything we can to stabilise the situation” and find a diplomatic solution.
There was no UK involvement in the US action but the PM was told about it in advance, a Downing Street spokesman said.
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