Green MPs and peers demand answers from Starmer and an end to UK involvement in illegal US-Israel war on Iran
Iran’s Foreign Minister has warned Yvette Cooper in a phone call that allowing US use of UK bases is considered as British “participation in aggression”.
Green MPs and peers have written to Keir Starmer expressing alarm at the UK’s involvement in the illegal US-Israeli war on Iran and pressing the Prime Minister to answer a number of urgent questions – including what control, if any, the UK has over US strikes launched from British bases and whether British-made weapons components are being used in breach of international law.
They note that the UK is obliged under international law to have no involvement in illegal military action, including the use of UK bases and UK-made weapons, and reiterate demands for an end to all UK complicity in this illegal war.
FULL TEXT OF LETTER
Dear Prime Minister,
We are writing as Green Party MPs and Peers to express our alarm at the UK’s involvement in the illegal US-Israeli war on Iran.
Already well over 1,000 civilians have been killed, including a reported 168 children killed by a missile now widely believed to be from the United States (Guardian, 2026). UNICEF has reported that the Israeli military’s assault on Lebanon is killing or injuring the equivalent of one classroom of children every day (Reuters, 2026).
In addition to the grave humanitarian impacts, the longer this illegal, unnecessary war continues, the greater the global economic fallout – to which the UK is particularly exposed because it remains heavily reliant on fossil fuels.
In light of this, there are urgent questions your government must answer:
- What steps, if any, is your government taking to ensure that B-1 and B-52 bombers taking off from RAF Fairford are being used for ‘specific, limited defensive purposes’ – as you committed to?
- What assessment have you made, if any, of how many Iranian civilians have been killed by US bombing missions from British air bases?
- Are target lists for US strikes from British soil approved by the Ministry of Defence before each mission or audited afterwards?
- Is the US being permitted to load banned cluster munitions at British bases?
- What assessment has the government made of the risk of UK-made weapons components being used in violation of international law in Iran, including in the Tomahawk missile systems which may have been involved in the strike on the Shajareh Tayyerbeh girls’s school which killed a reported 168 children and 14 teachers, in the single deadliest known attack so far?
- What assessment has the government made of the risk of UK-made weapons components being used by the Israeli government in violation of international law in Lebanon?
The UK is obliged under international law to have no involvement in illegal military action, including the use of UK bases and UK-made weapons. It is therefore of the utmost importance that these questions are answered as a matter of urgency.
This illegal war is inflicting untold suffering and devastation in the region and will cause huge and long lasting human, political, economic and environmental ramifications, as well as the immediate impact on the cost-of-living for our constituents. We, as Green Party MPs and Peers, reiterate our calls for the UK government to:
- Withdraw all permission for the US to use UK military bases for attacks on Iran.
- End all arms sales to and military cooperation with the Israeli government.
- Impose sanctions on government officials responsible for breaches of international law.
- Condemn the actions of Trump and Netanyahu for their flagrant violations of international law.
- Refuse any further complicity in this illegal war.
Yours sincerely,
Dr Ellie Chowns MP
Carla Denyer MP
Siân Berry MP
Hannah Spencer MP
Adrian Ramsay MP
Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle
Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb
Zack Polanski: I predict a Green wave in the local elections. Anyone who thinks our byelection win was an outlier is mistaken
Since the Gorton and Denton victory, I have travelled the UK and seen the energy that result unleashed. More will follow
This week, I sat in the gallery of the House of Commons and watched a historic moment unfold: Hannah Spencer was sworn in as the MP for Gorton and Denton, making her the first female plumber to sit in parliament, and the first ever Green MP in the north of England.
It marked the start of a new era: for Gorton and Denton, for the Green party and for British politics across the board. It’s not hyperbole to say that our win – in a seat that was 127th on our target list – has changed everything.
A major poll this week proves this, showing that people intend to vote Green at the next election in higher numbers than ever. We have leapfrogged Labour in the polls and are nipping at Reform UK’s heels – because people can see that we are the only party genuinely taking the fight to Reform and spelling out clearly how we’ll end rip-off Britain.
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We’ll lower bills by bringing water into public ownership and ending shareholder profiteering. We’ll tackle inflation and the cost of living at the same time with sensible measures such as rent controls. And by taxing the wealth of the super-rich fairly, we can ensure that money flows through our economy rather than being hoarded in assets or offshore accounts.
These are popular, commonsense ideas. For a long time, voters have enthusiastically backed the Green party’s policies – but have often stopped short of supporting us at the ballot box, afraid to “waste” their vote. We saw that change in Gorton and Denton – and that result unlocked a new level of confidence for potential Green voters that they can truly vote for what they want and get it.
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See the original article at https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/mar/07/predict-green-party-wave-zack-polanski-local-elections-byelection-win
Zack Polanski is leader of the Green party of England and Wales.
Left MPs move to block drive to another Middle East war
https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/left-mps-move-block-drive-another-middle-east-war
An F-35 arriving back at RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus, June 2019Corbyn tables Commons Bill requiring Parliament’s approval before allowing foreign militaries to use British bases
LEFT MPs moved today to block Britain from being dragged deeper into the escalating attack against Iran.
Former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn tabled a Commons Bill to require MPs’ approval before allowing foreign militaries to use British military bases.
The move comes as not only are US forces using the bases to pursue their illegal aggression, but British military forces are increasingly becoming directly involved in the conflict.
Mr Corbyn’s Military Action (Parliamentary Approval) Bill is co-sponsored by Labour, Green and Independent Alliance MPs and a response to PM Sir Keir Starmer’s agreement to allow US use of the bases.
While it has scant chance of becoming law, it signals growing disquiet in Labour’s ranks and beyond about Britain getting bogged down in supporting US President Donald Trump’s attack.
It would “require parliamentary approval for the deployment of UK armed forces and military equipment for armed conflict” and “require parliamentary approval for the granting of permission by ministers for use of UK military bases and equipment by other nations for armed conflict.”
Its co-sponsors are new Green MP Hannah Spencer and her colleague Ellie Chowns, Adnan Hussein and Ayoub Khan from the Independent Alliance and Labour’s Bell Ribeiro-Addy, Brian Leishman, John McDonnell, Richard Burgon, Apsana Begum, as well as suspended Labour MP Diane Abbott.
Sir Keir is under growing pressure from Mr Trump to fall in line as British governments usually do, forcing the premier to assert in the Commons that the “special relationship” did not “depend on hanging on to President Trump’s latest word.”
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Article continues at https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/left-mps-move-block-drive-another-middle-east-war
