Sunak putting international diplomacy before appeasement of frustrated backbenchers
From Rishi Sunak to Keir Starmer, to President Macron and President Biden, Western leaders on Monday appealed to Israel to exercise restraint following Iran’s drone and missile attack.
The prime minister, addressing MPs, issued a carefully-worded statement that both reiterated unwavering support for Israel while acknowledging the other regional partners – Jordan and Saudi Arabia – who helped in efforts to intercept and destroy almost all the projectiles fired by Iran and its proxies on Saturday.
With all eyes on Israel, allies are publicly co-ordinated and the prime minister on Monday was careful not to go beyond clearly agreed lines to take among allies.
He was determined not to throw a match into the tinderbox as Western powers instead embark upon frantic shuttle diplomacy behind the scenes, with the PM due to speak to Netanyahu, and the Foreign Secretary Lord David Cameron potentially taking a trip to the region.
Politics latest: Sunak and Starmer call for ‘restraint’
Because this is a dangerous moment: As the prime minister’s spokesperson said this morning, had the Iranian attack been successful, it’s hard to overestimate the fallout for regional instability.
Having seen off that threat, the aim now is to make sure Israel’s response does not undo their efforts.
Expressing support for Israel, the PM also said allies must “invest more deeply” in the two-state solution and said the conflict in Gaza “must end” and reiterated the need for new crossings to be opened for longer to let more aid in.
Backbenchers frustrated
Announcing he would shortly be speaking to Prime Minister Netanyahu, Mr Sunak was clear that in expressing solidarity with Israel, he also stressed “all sides must show restraint”.
But if the PM has his eyes trained on the Middle East, senior backbenchers seemed frustrated on Monday that the UK wasn’t taking a more robust line with Iran.
Suella Braverman, the former home secretary, and Iain Duncan Smith asked the prime minister why the government hadn’t proscribed the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as a terrorist organisation.
Searching questions over tougher sanctions
Meanwhile, former defence secretary Liam Fox asked about tougher sanctions, asking why Iranian banks were still operating in the City or Iran Air at Heathrow – and what could be done to stop the export of Iranian oil to Russia and other countries.
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‘All sides must show restraint’
On this, the prime minister said “active work” was being undertaken and discussions were being held between allies to co-ordinate efforts and move in a manner that has “maximum impact both on the regime and on the ultimate designations of any future sanctions”.
It might well be that further down the line, the prime minister does respond more directly with his backbenchers. But for now, their demands are neither his focus nor his concern.
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There is “no doubt” the UK “will spend 3% of our GDP on defence” in the next parliament, the defence secretary has said.
John Healey’s comments come ahead of the publication of the government’s Strategic Defence Review (SDR) on Monday.
This is an assessment of the state of the armed forces, the threats facing the UK, and the military transformation required to meet them.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has previously set out a “clear ambition” to raise defence spending to 3% in the next parliament “subject to economic and fiscal conditions”.
Mr Healey has now told The Times newspaper there is a “certain decade of rising defence spending” to come, adding that this commitment “allows us to plan for the long term. It allows us to deal with the pressures.”
A government source insisted the defence secretary was “expressing an opinion, which is that he has full confidence that the government will be able to deliver on its ambition”, rather than making a new commitment.
The UK currently spends 2.3% of GDP on defence, with Sir Keir announcing plans to increase that to 2.5% by 2027 in February.
This followed mounting pressure from the White House for European nations to do more to take on responsibility for their own security and the defence of Ukraine.
The 2.3% to 2.5% increase is being paid for by controversial cuts to the international aid budget, but there are big questions over where the funding for a 3% rise would be found, given the tight state of government finances.
While a commitment will help underpin the planning assumptions made in the SDR, there is of course no guarantee a Labour government would still be in power during the next parliament to have to fulfil that pledge.
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From March: How will the UK scale up defence?
A statement from the Ministry of Defence makes it clear that the official government position has not changed in line with the defence secretary’s comments.
The statement reads: “This government has announced the largest sustained increase to defence spending since the end of the Cold War – 2.5% by 2027 and 3% in the next parliament when fiscal and economic conditions allow, including an extra £5bn this financial year.
“The SDR will rightly set the vision for how that uplift will be spent, including new capabilities to put us at the leading edge of innovation in NATO, investment in our people and making defence an engine for growth across the UK – making Britain more secure at home and strong abroad.”
Sir Keir commissioned the review shortly after taking office in July 2024. It is being led by Lord Robertson, a former Labour defence secretary and NATO secretary general.
The Ministry of Defence has already trailed a number of announcements as part of the review, including plans for a new Cyber and Electromagnetic Command and a £1bn battlefield system known as the Digital Targeting Web, which we’re told will “better connect armed forces weapons systems and allow battlefield decisions for targeting enemy threats to be made and executed faster”.
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PM Sir Keir Starmer and Defence Secretary John Healey on a nuclear submarine earlier this year. Pic: Crown Copyright 2025
On Saturday, the defence secretary announced a £1.5bn investment to tackle damp, mould and make other improvements to poor quality military housing in a bid to improve recruitment and retention.
Mr Healey pledged to “turn round what has been a national scandal for decades”, with 8,000 military family homes currently unfit for habitation.
He said: “The Strategic Defence Review, in the broad, will recognise that the fact that the world is changing, threats are increasing.
“In this new era of threat, we need a new era for defence and so the Strategic Defence Review will be the vision and direction for the way that we’ve got to strengthen our armed forces to make us more secure at home, stronger abroad, but also learn the lessons from Ukraine as well.
“So an armed forces that can be more capable of innovation more quickly, stronger to deter the threats that we face and always with people at the heart of our forces… which is why the housing commitments that we make through this strategic defence review are so important for the future.”
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