Tony Blair takes turn to scold Keir Starmer over Iran indecision: 'You better show up!'

Describing the US as an "indispensable" ally to the UK, he said the Prime Minister should "better show up!"

The message to his Labour successor, reported by the Daily Mail, came as American President Donald Trump has repeatedly levelled criticism towards the Prime Minister.

Sir Tony said he had already shared his views with the current Labour Government, and was not saying anything that they had not heard before.

He also stressed the importance of the "special relationship" between the two countries.

He said: "We have got to be very clear about this as a country. We're depending on the American alliance for our country.

"They are not just an ally, they are an indispensable ally, right?"

He said tests between a relationship come not when "things are easy", but when they are hard.

Comparing the US's ask to refuel warplanes on British bases to other historic strains on the special relationship, he said it was not "like it was in Vietnam...not like the Iraq campaign where we had thousands of British troops".

He added: "It's not a question of whether it's this president or that president. If they are your ally and they are an indispensable cornerstone for your security... you had better show up."

Mr Trump took to social media to send his own message on Saturday to the Prime Minister.

The US President said the UK Government's decision to "finally" consider sending "two aircraft carriers" to the Middle East came too late.

The aircraft carrier HMS Prince of Wales is now preparing to be deployed to the region after HMS Dragon was set to leave Portsmouth, but was delayed until next week.

He added: "We don’t need people that join Wars after we’ve already won!"

However, the former prime minister rebuffed the idea that support of Mr Trump would divide the Labour party.

He said the general election, which is to be held no later than August 2029, would ultimately be decided on other issues.

Concluding, he said when it came to foreign policy, the Prime Minister should be "strong and out there and clear".

A spokesman for Sir Tony told the Daily Mail that his comments were made at a private events and not intended to be publicised.

Jewish News, the hosts of the event, said at its suggestion the event was to be held under Chatham House rules.

This was repeatedly mentioned by Jewish News' editor, the chair of the "Media and More" event Robert Peston, and Sir Tony himself, Jewish News said.

"We are disappointed in the extreme that it appears one or more individuals chose to exploit our trust, and basic rules of journalism, by leaking some of the remarks to the national media," added Jewish News in a statement on social media.