The Sunday Times (14th January) had an interesting story about the Government’s decision with Starmer’s backing to bomb Yemen. Far from being a claimed ‘one-off’ the bombing is continuing.
The story was written by Tim Shipman and to be clear it was not the result of investigative journalism but information he has been given by Tory sources who wanted it spun in this way.
Hence not all of it may be true and those bits that are may not accurate.
Even so there are interesting details. The first security meeting on bombing Yemen was held in the week before Xmas. The second in the week between Xmas and the New Year and the third in the first week of the New Year. Starmer does not appear to have been told. Rather (the article does not say) the only Western politician the US could find who was on board with the bombing was Sunak. Given his dire poll ratings presumably he thought a bit of warmongering would help.
Starmer was only told on the Thursday bombing started and not by Sunak but by Oliver Dowden the self styled Deputy PM.
As Laura Kuenssberg reminded Starmer on her Sunday show his 2020 position had been that there should be a Parliamentary debate and vote before military action. He wanted neither before agreeing with the bombing of Yemen because it did not involve soldiers on the ground. This was a detail he had either forgotten in 2020 or just made up.
The story also notes that the US was pissed off with idiot Defence Secretary Shapps for leaking the news of the bombing before it took place (hence media stories before it happened). Were it not an election year Shapps might be moving on to his next Ministerial role by now.
Meanwhile more bombing and no Parliamentary vote. Lord Dave Cameron recalling he lost a vote when he was PM, has decreed that one is not needed. Starmer has led the Opposition by agreeing with him
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