Sir Keir Starmer was accused of “catching arrows rather than stopping the archer” in response to the crisis in Iran during Prime Minister’s Questions.
Kemi Badenoch also branded Labour “weak” for putting welfare over defence after the Office for Budget Responsibility confirmed spending on welfare, including pensions, is set to rise by £74billion over the next five years.
Sir Keir told the House of Commons he initially refused to grant the United States permission to use the Diego Garcia military base on the Chagos Islands and send military equipment to the Middle East “unless I was satisfied there was a thoughtful basis and thorough plan”.
He said: "We need to act with clarity, purpose and with a cool head. The protection of UK nationals is our number one priority.
"And we are taking action to reduce the threat with planes in the sky in the region intercepting incoming strikes, deploying more capability to Cyprus and allowing US planes to use UK bases to take out Iran’s capability to strike.”
But Mrs Badenoch, the Conservative leader, said: “Iran is trying to kill our servicemen and women. He is catching arrows rather than stopping the archer.
"I say to Labour MPs: We are in this war whether we like it or not.”
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