Never here Keir! Starmer won't come to the Commons to field questions on Iran crisis and will miss PMQs AGAIN this week... after dodging grilling on grooming gangs

Keir Starmer will not field questions from MPs on the Iran crisis today amid criticism that he is dodging scrutiny.
The PM is sending Foreign Secretary David Lammy to deliver a Commons statement on the burgeoning crisis in the Middle East this afternoon.
Mr Lammy will come under huge pressure to justify the UK's position of refusing to say whether or not it backs US strikes on Iran's nuclear sites.
Sir Keir, who is meeting Volodymyr Zelensky this afternoon, is expected to take Cabinet but not be in the House tomorrow.
He will miss PMQs for the second week running on Wednesday as he is due at the Nato summit in The Hague.
By Thursday, when he is due to make an appearance, the premier will not have spoken in the chamber for more than two weeks.
Sir Keir has still not updated the elected chamber on the G7 summit in Canada last week - something that by convention happens as soon as possible.
Sir Keir is under huge pressure to justify the UK's position of refusing to say whether or not it backs Donald Trump's strikes on Iran nuclear sites
He was previously criticised for delaying his return from that gathering to dodge a grilling on grooming gangs.
The summit wrapped up on Tuesday night, but Angela Rayner stood in at the weekly PMQs session the following lunchtime.
The bombshell report by Baroness Casey condemning institutions for ignoring ethnic factors in sexual abuse of children dominated clashes in the House.
Sir Keir had chosen to announced his extraordinary U-turn to back a statutory national inquiry into the scandal as he left the country for Canada the weekend before.
The PM had spent months resisting demands from Opposition politicians and campaigners to trigger a new probe.
But he shifted his position after reading the damning conclusions of Lady Casey's rapid review.
Sir Keir was in Alberta when Home Secretary Yvette Cooper made an apology to victims on behalf of the state, and published the Whitehall troubleshooter's report.
Although he faced questions from the media at the G7 - which has been dominated by the Israel-Iran crisis - Tory leader Kemi Badenoch said Sir Keir 'should have been in the chamber this week talking about this issue'.
Ms Rayner will again fill in for Sir Keir in the chamber this Wednesday.
Lib Dem leader Ed Davey said: 'The Prime Minister has not even spoken once in the Commons since this crisis began.

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Learn with AIFact CheckingText to SpeechAI Summary

Related Articles

South Wales Guardian

25 minutes ago

• South Wales Guardian

Murray hails ‘brilliant opportunities' of UK Government's industrial strategy

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer unveiled the document on Monday, pinpointing key industries believed to have the most potential for growth such as artificial intelligence, offshore wind and batteries for electric vehicles. The 160-page document put Scotland 'at the heart of the UK's energy transition', as well as talking up commitments to a £750 million supercomputer in Edinburgh and £200 million in development funding for the Acorn carbon capture and storage facility in Aberdeenshire. The Prime Minister also announced a cut to electricity bills for industrial businesses, £30 million for the video games sector – with a number of high profile developers based in Scotland – and £30 million for research and development for each of the devolved nations. Delighted to be in Cockenzie, East Lothian for the launch of the UK Industrial Strategy today. Lots of brilliant opportunities for Scotland from the 8 growth sectors. Jobs, investment, regeneration and skills. — Ian Murray MP (@IanMurrayMP) June 23, 2025 In a post on X following a visit to the promote the strategy, the Scottish Secretary said: 'Delighted to be in Cockenzie, East Lothian, for the launch of the UK industrial strategy today. 'Lots of brilliant opportunities for Scotland from the eight growth sectors. 'Jobs, investment, regeneration and skills.' The strategy was also praised by Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar. 'Labour's industrial strategy delivers for Scotland – unlocking economic potential, raising wages, boosting living standards, and delivering the growth we need,' he said. Asked about his response to the UK Government's announcement on Monday, First Minister John Swinney touted his own Government's work on industry. 'Of course, we have in Scotland our own approach to industrial strategy, which involves working with our universities, with our economic development agencies to ensure that we attract investment and can support development within the economy,' he told the PA news agency. 'Last week, we saw that Scotland, for the 10th year in a row, was the most successful part of the United Kingdom for the attraction of inward investment other than London and the south east. 'So that's an indication that the Scottish Government's got its priorities correct, its focus correct on the attraction of investment, because we're contributing to make Scotland an incredibly successful investment location.'

The Sun

28 minutes ago

• The Sun

Explosions heard in Qatar as Iranian missiles shot towards US airbase after Tehran vowed revenge for Trump nuke strikes

IRAN launched a salvo of ballistic missiles at Qatar targeting the biggest US military base in the Middle East. Loud explosions were heard in central Doha as air defence systems worked to intercept the missiles launched at Al Udeid air base - home to some 10,000 US army personnel. 3 3 All the Iranian missiles were shot down, it is understood. Footage shared by OSINT accounts appeared to show interceptions by air defence systems. It comes after the US said it expects that Iran could carry out retaliatory attacks targeting American forces in the next 24 to 48 hours. The Qataris have now closed their airspace. They said they reserve the right to respond directly and in accordance with international law. It has also been said that there are no casualties at the US Al Udeid military base in Doha, following Iran's attack on the facility. Tehran repeatedly threatened to strike US military bases in the Middle East following Donald Trump's bombing of its nuclear sites. Qatar is home to the largest US military base in the Middle East – Al Udeid Air Base. The base in the desert outside of Doha serves as the forward HQ for US Central Command. It houses about 10,000 troops and hosts some 40 military aircraft. In total, the US has about 50,000 troops stationed in the Middle East. British military personnel also serve there on rotation. Earlier today, The Sun reported that US and UK embassies in Qatar warned American and British citizens to 'shelter in place until further notice'. Meanwhile, the Israelis carried out their most intense bombing raids in Iran - pounding the Islamic Republic's intelligence HQ, a prison full of dissidents and the Fordow nuke plant for the second time. The IDF blew the gates off the notorious Evin Prison - a pit of torture and executions - hoping to bust out the regime's fierce critics languishing behind the walls. Also targeted were the Basij Headquarters of the Revolutionary Guard, Iran's "Destruction of Israel" countdown clock and various other security hubs, the IDF said. The Fordow mountain-fortress nuclear site was bombed - barely a day after the Americans pulverised it - with IDF rockets going after the "access routes". Significant damage has likely been caused to the plant and the sensitive machinery it houses by the US's bombing, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said. Stay up to date with the latest on Israel vs Iran with The Sun's live blog below...

The Guardian

37 minutes ago

• The Guardian

Iran's closure of strait of Hormuz would be monumental act of self-harm, says Lammy

Any Iranian move to close the strait of Hormuz waterway would be an act of monumental self-harm, David Lammy, the UK's foreign secretary, said, as he continued to refuse to endorse the Israeli and American strikes on Iran, or lay out the UK view of their lawfulness. Lammy said there was no need for the British government to say if the strikes were legal since the UK was not involved in the action and had not been asked by the US to take part, or to allow the US to use the UK's Diego Garcia base in the Indian Ocean to target Iran. The US used B-2 stealth bombers and a salvo of submarine-launched missiles to hit Iran's nuclear facilities on Saturday night. Lammy denied that the US was involved in regime change, saying the attacks were very targeted. No assessment had yet been completed on the effectiveness of the US attacks, he admitted, raising questions over whether Iran has moved its enriched uranium to a new site. Lammy, in an hour-long statement to the Commons, also disclosed the first RAF plane had evacuated 63 British nationals and their dependents to Cyprus from Israel. He said negotiations were under way to help the 4,000 British nationals in Israel that had registered with the Foreign Office. Referring to the Iranian parliament's decision to vote for the closure of the strait of Hormuz, he said contingency plans were in place. He told MPs: 'Be in no doubt we are prepared to defend our personnel, our assets and those of our allies and partners. We are closely monitoring how energy markets are responding to the conflict. We have been extremely clear to the Iranians. Any action to blockade their Straits of Hormuz would be a monumental act of self-harm, making a diplomatic solution even harder.' Lammy also repeated his plea for Iran to return to the negotiating table. He said: 'My message for Tehran was clear, take the off-ramp, dial this thing down, and negotiate with the United States seriously and immediately. 'The alternative is an even more destructive and far-reaching conflict, which could have unpredictable consequences.' For the first time since the crisis broke party political splits started to emerge with Liberal Democrats, Scottish Nationalists and Labour backbenchers, including the chair of the foreign affairs select committee, Emily Thornberry, challenging the trustworthiness of the US and the legality of its action. Lammy was also repeatedly asked if the UK's reputation as an upholder of rule-based order was not damaged if it could not admit the acts of its allies were unlawful. By contrast the Conservative frontbench and Reform MPs congratulated the US's actions, with some MPs backing regime change. Lammy said: 'It's not our belief that it is for us to change the regime of any country – that is for the people of that country.' He added 'I am confident that this is not about regime change and the Israelis have been clear they are not attacking the civilian population.' Asked about the Israeli bombing of the gates of Evin prison in Tehran, he said he had been reassured in phone call by the Israeli foreign minister Gideon Sa'ar that 'nuclear targets remained their objective and focus at this time'. The UK has long taken the view that any public criticism of the US only reduces the UK's private influence, but it has been rare for the government to be so circumspect in setting out its views on such a major crisis. Lammy did implicitly question the wisdom of a US strategy based heavily on air power, pointing out that 'strikes cannot destroy the knowledge Iran has acquired over several decades nor any regime ambition to deploy that knowledge to build a nuclear weapon'. Thornberry expressed her concern over whether diplomatic negotiations favoured by Lammy would occur since that required a modicum of trust. She said given that Trump tore up the previous nuclear deal in 2018, Israel had ended the previous US-Israel talks by striking Iran and an emboldened Benjamin Netanyahu was talking about regime change, it is difficult to see how negotiations based on trust can take place. Lammy also broke new ground by saying for the first time that the UK's focus in any future diplomatic negotiations would be a requirement for Iran to accept zero enrichment of uranium, saying we have 'moved on' from the 2015 Iran nuclear deal that allowed Iran to enrich to 3.75%. Lammy insisted that Iran was in breach of its obligations by enriching uranium at levels of purity as high as 60% and said the country was engaging in deception and obfuscation. Speaking to the BBC, he also refused to say if he agreed with the latest US intelligence assessment that Iran was close to securing a nuclear weapon, saying instead that he relied on the report from the International Atomic Energy Agency , the UN's nuclear inspectorate, which said in its latest report it had no evidence that Iran was seeking to make a nuclear bomb.