The UK will still not be directly involved in the strikes and Downing Street said “the principles behind the UK’s approach to the conflict remain the same”. <\/p>\n
Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch said the decision was the “mother of all U-turns” in a post on social media site X.<\/p>\n
Liberal Democrat foreign affairs spokesman Calum Miller said the government’s decision showed the UK was “being drawn further and further down Trump’s slippery slope”.<\/p>\n
He called on Sir Keir to allow Parliament to vote on the terms of the agreement with the US for their use of UK bases.<\/p>\n
Green Party leader Zack Polanski said it was “another worrying escalation” and said MPs “must be given a vote on our involvement”.<\/p>\n
The UK bases used by the US have been RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire and Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean.<\/p>\n
Speaking to reporters, Trump said of the UK’s decision: “It’s been a very late response from the UK. <\/p>\n
“Surprised because the relationship is so good but this has never happened before. They were really pretty much our first ally all over the world.”<\/p>\n
The US president earlier called Nato allies “cowards” for refusing to offer warships to reopen the shipping channel, and claimed reopening the strait would be a “simple” military task with “little risk”.<\/p>\n
UK military planners have joined the US Central Command to look at options for getting tankers through the strait, which has been effectively closed off by the threat of Iranian attacks in retaliation for the US-Israeli bombing campaign.<\/p>\n