Keir Starmer faced a growing Labour backlash on Monday night after refusing to say whether Donald Trump‘s raid in Venezuela broke international law.
The Prime Minister, who has lectured opponents on the importance of international law for years, insisted it remained ‘the benchmark against which we judge the actions of all other governments’.
But he refused to be drawn on whether the seizure of Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro was legal, saying it was ‘for the US to justify the action it has taken’.
He added: ‘It is not straightforward. It is complicated, and even today, there are further developments.’ Sir Keir ducked questions in the Commons about his stance, sending Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper to face MPs instead.
Labour MPs lined up to criticise Mr Trump – and ask why the PM was not taking a tougher stance.
Dame Emily Thornberry said Maduro had led an ‘abhorrent’ regime, but warned that the Government was in danger of endorsing the ‘law of the jungle’, and it was ‘not for the country that is breaking the law to say whether or not it is breaking the law’.
Dame Emily, who chairs the Commons foreign affairs committee, added: ‘We risk living in a world where might is right, and that cannot be in Britain’s interests.’
John McDonnell, Labour’s former shadow chancellor, said the Government’s stance was ‘shameful’, adding: ‘Trump will interpret that as the green light to go in wherever, to steal the national assets of those countries.
Keir Starmer faced a growing Labour backlash on Monday night after refusing to say whether Donald Trump’s raid in Venezuela broke international law
This image, posted on Trump’s Truth Social account on Saturday, shows Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro on board the USS Iwo Jima after the US military captured him
‘And as a result of that, we are all in a more dangerous place.’
Ms Cooper said she raised the importance of respecting international law at the weekend with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
She also signalled a breach with the Trump administration’s approach, saying the UK believed the new Venezuelan regime sworn in under Maduro’s deputy, Delcy Rodriguez, was not legitimate.
Speaking earlier, Sir Keir insisted the ‘vast majority’ of Labour MPs were opposed to Maduro’s regime. ‘What we need in Venezuela is a peaceful transition to democracy,’ he said. ‘That was our position before this weekend, it remains our position.’
Kemi Badenoch criticised Sir Keir for ducking MPs’ scrutiny.
She said the ‘jubilation’ among many Venezuelans following Maduro’s removal was no surprise because he led a ‘gangster state’.
The Tory leader said it was clear that the US was ‘acting in its national interest’ and the UK should follow suit.
Former Tory Cabinet minister Andrew Mitchell suggested ‘the end might justify the means’.
Veteran Tory MP Sir Edward Leigh mocked the PM for sitting on the fence, adding: ‘The PM is such a defender of international law he’s not prepared to defend our own borders from small boats.
‘Why is it that there’s one law for the US President doing what is right for his country and a different law for us?’
Lib Dem leader Sir Ed Davey said the US clearly broke international law and its actions would embolden authoritarians such as Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping.
But the fiercest criticism came from Labour MPs. Diane Abbott said the public ‘don’t understand why a British Prime Minister is not willing to stand up for the rules-based international order’.
She added: ‘We cannot have a country, because it is bigger and stronger, walking into another country, snatching its leadership and putting them on a show trial.’
Bradford East MP Imran Hussain said the Government’s response was ‘shameful’.
