Sir Keir Starmer has been blasted by his own MPs after he issued a “shameful and reckless” statement that failed to talk about Donald Trump following his attack on Venezuela, which saw the country’s President, Nicolas Maduro, captured and reportedly taken to the US.
The Prime Minister issued a statement on the social media platform X saying: “The UK has long supported a transition of power in Venezuela. We regarded Maduro as an illegitimate President and we shed no tears about the end of his regime.” He added: “I reiterated my support for international law this morning. The UK Government will discuss the evolving situation with US counterparts in the days ahead as we seek a safe and peaceful transition to a legitimate government that reflects the will of the Venezuelan people.”
But the statement drew blistering criticism from his own MPs, with Richard Burgon slamming the statement as “shameful”. Mr Burgon claimed that “international law is being cast aside to appease Donald Trump.”
He added: “The world will see this hypocrisy for exactly what it is. Contrast it with the principled words of Brazil’s President Lula (below). That’s real leadership.”
Sir Ed Davey, leader of the Liberal Democrats, lampooned the statement as a “cop out”, adding: “Standing up for international law means condemning leaders when they break it, whether that’s Vladimir Putin or Donald Trump.”
The statement from the Prime Minister came late in the day, after he surprised his MPs by saying he would be waiting for President Trump’s statement before making one of his own.
Mr Starmer’s perceived slowness in responding to the attack drew criticism from his own MPs earlier on Saturday. One backbench Labour MP demanded that the Prime Minister “stand up to Trump’s gangster politics”. Richard Burgon, a critic of Mr Starmer, added that he should “respond to an illegal bombing and kidnapping by Trump in exactly the way he would if Putin had carried it out”.
He was supported by a collection of other backbench Labour MPs, Jon Trickett, Kim Johnson and Kate Osborne. Mr Trickett shared a tweet online quoting the Defence Minister of the South American country which said “we will not negotiate, we will not surrender, and we will ultimately triumph”.
The leader of the Green Party, Zack Polanski also condemned the attack, and later Mr Starmer after the Prime Minister’s statement saying: “How quickly Keir Starmer has tried to change the narrative from an illegal kidnapping & oil grab to “long supported a transition of power.”.”
Sir Ed Davey, the leader of the Liberal Democrats, also condemned the strikes, and called on the Prime Minister to do likewise. He said: “Keir Starmer should condemn Trump’s illegal action in Venezuela. Maduro is a brutal and illegitimate dictator, but unlawful attacks like this make us all less safe.”
He added: “Trump is giving a green light to the likes of Putin and Xi to attack other countries with impunity.”
