Yvette Cooper hits back after Donald Trump declares 'we don't need UK'

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Metro's senior politics reporter Craig Munro breaks down all the chaos into easy to follow insight,in Metro's politics newsletter Alright,Gov? Sent every Wednesday. Sign up here.The Ministry of Defence had confirmed earlier on Saturday that one of the UK’s two carriers has been placed on advanced readiness.Responding to the fresh attack,Cooper told Sky News this morning that ‘sometimes we will disagree’ as both countries act in their national interest.She added: ‘We disagreed on the initial strikes that took place,and whether the UK should provide the basing support for them,but that is a legitimate thing for the UK Prime Minister to do.’Trump has spent all week criticising Sir Keir,calling him ‘no Churchill’ over his refusal to let the US use British bases for strikes against Iran.The government has now relented and allowed the Americans to launch ‘defensive’ action against Iran from UK bases.The delay also sparked anger from former prime minister Tony Blair who said ‘we should have backed America from the very beginning.’Sir Tony told an event on Friday: ‘If they are your ally and they are an indispensable cornerstone for your security… you had better show up’.Addressing the former prime minister’s comments,Cooper said that it was important to ‘learn the lessons’ from the Iraq war,when Sir Tony backed the US decision to topple Suddam Hussein.Tony Blair joined Donald Trump’s attacks on Sir Keir’s handling of the Middle East conflict (Picture: AP)She added: ‘There are some people in politics who think that we should always agree with the US whatever.‘There are other people in politics who think we should never take action with the US again whatever the circumstances.‘I don’t think either of those positions is in the UK national interest,and it is the responsibility for Keir Starmer to act in the UK’s national interest for British citizens.’Sir Tony’s intervention also sparked anger from Labour MPs over his role inthe Iraq war.Richard Burgon MP told Metro: ‘Tony Blair is the last person on earth anybody should be listening to about war in the Middle East,after dragging Britain into the illegal invasion of Iraq.‘That caused devastation across the region and left our country less safe. Keir Starmer should show he has truly learnt the lessons of that disaster by refusing any support for Donald Trump’s war on Iran.’It is understood that Sir Tony is clear that the event was private,that it was not meant to be attributed,and that he did not ‘admonish,rebuke or criticise Keir Starmer’.The Prime Minister has pledged to sent other military assets to support British interests in the Middle East.Four Typhoon jets have been deployed from RAF Coningsby to Qatar to form a ‘protective shield’ around Brits trapped in the Gulf.Royal Navy warship HMS Dragon will also be sent to defend British base RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus,which has been targetted by Iranian-made drones.Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at .