Donald Trump says UK ‘should have acted faster’ after it allows US to use bases

The UK will now let the US use British bases to strike Iranian sites targeting the Strait of Hormuz after Iran’s blockade of the waterway.

Downing Street said RAF Fairford and Diego Garcia will now be used for US ‘defensive operations to degrade the missile sites and capabilities being used to attack ships’ following the oil crisis that has hit the world after the route was blocked off.

Up until this point, the government has allowed the US to use British bases only to hit missile sites targeting British interests in the region.

But now they’ve allowed it to go further as gas and oil bills for Brits have spiralled, while other nations are being urged to limit their supply.

In response, Donald Trump said the UK ‘should have acted a lot faster’. He added that a ‘a lot of help’ was needed to get safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz and that it ‘would be nice’ if countries like China and Japan got involved.

Leader of the opposition, Kemi Badenoch, described it as the ‘mother of all U-turns’ in a post on X, while other MPs have hit out at the plan, fearing that it further endangers Britons.

Jeremy Corbyn MP, Your Party Parliamentary Leader, said: ‘This is a reckless act of escalation that endangers us all. No discussion. No debate. What a disgrace. How on earth can the Prime Minister still pretend we are not involved?

‘It doesn’t matter how he dresses it up. Britain is participating in an illegal war of aggression.’

The Liberal Democrats and Plaid Cymru are meanwhile calling for a vote in Parliament on any further action, with both parties warning that the action ‘drags the UK further’ into a war in the Middle East.

Ministers met to discuss the latest developments on Friday afternoon where they reached the agreement, Downing Street said.

The move will likely anger Tehran, which has already claimed the UK providing its military bases to the US to use is ‘participation in aggression’.

A Downing Street spokesperson said: ‘Ministers condemned Iran’s expansion of its targets to include international shipping.

‘They agreed that Iran’s reckless strikes, including on Red Ensign vessels and those of our close allies and Gulf partners, risked pushing the region further into crisis and worsening the economic impact being felt in the UK and around the world.

‘They confirmed that the agreement for the US to use UK bases in the collective self-defence of the region includes US defensive operations to degrade the missile sites and capabilities being used to attack ships in the Strait of Hormuz.

‘They reaffirmed that the principles behind the UK’s approach to the conflict remain the same: the UK remains committed to defending our people, our interests and our allies, acting in accordance with international law and not getting drawn into the wider conflict.

‘Ministers underlined the need for urgent de-escalation and a swift resolution to the war.’

Earlier today, US President Donald Trump piled pressure on Nato allies, calling them ‘cowards’ for refusing to offer warships to reopen the Strait.

Mr Trump, who has has repeatedly berated countries including the UK for failing to respond to his request for support, claimed reopening the key oil and gas shipping route would be a ‘simple’ military task with ‘little risk’.

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