Britain probes information leak from meeting about US request to use military bases
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While British Prime Minister Keir Starmer (above) was in favour of giving the US permission to use UK bases for its strikes on Iran, there was opposition from his energy and finance ministers.
PHOTO: REUTERS
- UK government launches inquiry into leak of National Security Council meeting details regarding US request to use British military bases in Iran conflict.
- Spectator report revealed ministers were divided; Starmer supported US use but Miliband and Reeves opposed it, escalating tensions with Trump.
- Senior official Antonia Romeo said the leak undermines relations, especially within "Five Eyes" alliance, and the government is using full powers.
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LONDON – The British government on March 17 opened an inquiry into how details of a top-secret national security meeting to discuss a US request to use British military bases at the start of the Iran conflict were leaked to a journalist.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer initially blocked the US from using the Diego Garcia airbase in the Indian Ocean and RAF Fairford in England, before later allowing the US to use the bases for “defensive” strikes against Iranian targets.
Senior ministers who attended a meeting of the National Security Council were divided over whether to grant the initial US request, The Spectator magazine reported.
While Mr Starmer was in favour of giving the US permission to use the bases, there was opposition from Energy Minister Ed Miliband and Finance Minister Rachel Reeves, according to the report in The Spectator, which was then picked up by several media outlets.
Ms Antonia Romeo, the British government’s most senior official, said in a letter to an opposition party politician that the leak inquiry had started.
She said leaks undermine Britain’s relations with other countries, particularly the US-led “Five Eyes” intelligence alliance.
The government “is conducting an inquiry into this unauthorised disclosure which draws on the full range of powers at their disposal”, she wrote in the letter.
Asked for comment, a government spokesperson said: “We don’t have anything to add to the letter for now.”
US President Donald Trump has repeatedly hit out at Mr Starmer since the conflict with Iran started, complaining he was not doing enough to help him.
On March 16, Mr Trump said there were “some countries that greatly disappointed me” before he singled out Britain, which he said had once been considered “the Rolls-Royce of allies”. REUTERS
