Rod Liddle: UK Correspondent on the UK's response to the Iran conflict, Trump's rebuke

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer says it's special relationship with the US is not dead.  

US President Donald Trump yesterday described the UK's war effort as disappointing and Starmer was 'no Winston Churchill'. 

US and Israeli forces have bombed more than 2000 targets and killed close to 800 people in Iran since first launching attacks on Saturday. 

UK Correspondent Rod Liddle told Mike Hosking it’s difficult for Starmer because this is the one area where he was successful in treading the line between keeping Trump on side and staying sane, and that’s now gone. 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Well, it really has been quite the spectacle in the
last couple of days that he was not for help
once again, the Chagos Islands become a debating point. Macron
has apparently decided that Trump's incursion epic fury is illegal.
Censious says it's illegal, but Starmer's I mean, God knows
where Starmer's been.

Speaker 2 (00:19):
British jets are shooting down drones and missiles to protect
American lives in the Middle East on our joint basis.
That is the special relationship in action, sharing intelligence every
day to keep our people safe. That is the special
relationship in action. Hanging on to present Trump's latest words
is not the special relationship.

Speaker 1 (00:40):
Right, very good morning.

Speaker 3 (00:41):
To you, good balling to you, mate.

Speaker 1 (00:44):
He is no Winston Churchill. I think Trump had that
right in me.

Speaker 3 (00:49):
Except absolutely right. And I think nothing has defined Starmer's
premiership more than this, which is U turn, U turn
and robotic rebuttals of what he is accused of. So
at first he refused to let the USA use basis

(01:15):
to bomb Iran, and then he considered to allow them
to do it, and then said it was nothing to
do with offensive action, copped a whole load of appalling
abuse from America, including comments from Trump, and is now
saying this is a special relationship. It's difficult for Starma

(01:38):
because this is the one area where he was successful,
which was treading, yeah, which was treading that line between
you know, keeping Trump on side and staying sane, and
that's gone exactly, that has gone.

Speaker 1 (01:56):
So when he went to Washington, he took the letter
of the invite from the case any massage the ego
brilliantly and that is quite right. And so suddenly there
was this special relationship and Trump had a great time
at the Palace and all that sort of stuff. But
I mean, what we've learned from Trump is you're either
on his side permanently or you're the enemy.

Speaker 3 (02:14):
Yes, that's right, and Trump may be a bully and
maybe a thug whatever, but nonetheless that was part of
Britain's policy, which was the state of his side. And
we're now on his side. But down the list we're
probably between Shibouti and Laus.

Speaker 1 (02:33):
Did anybody, I mean, given what Sanchiez has said, Macrons
backed him up. When Starmer talked about well, I didn't
want to go to war or be involved with this
if I wasn't convinced of the legality in being convinced
of the legality. Who convinced him? Or is that just
just flash talk for a U turn.

Speaker 3 (02:49):
It's just stracal for U turn. The truth is, you know,
Irana's spunks of terrorism against England, against the UK, against
the USA, against Saudi Iraania, against Israel, and has continued
to do so for years now. That may not constitute,

(03:09):
as far as the UN is concerned, a private fess
evidence to go to war, but in the real world
it kind of does. And it's certainly a lot more
convincing than the evidence we had in two thousand and
three when Labor went to war against Iraq. So I
don't think the great problem I have with all this

(03:30):
is not really that it's incompetent, but that it's im moral.
You know, there is no moral basis to the statis taking.

Speaker 1 (03:39):
Exactly, mind you, we've talked about that before and lack
of I don't know. The name is that joany Re
Johnny read the Scottish MP.

Speaker 3 (03:46):
Who's husband y Yeah, yeah, that's the way you pronounce it,
I believe.

Speaker 1 (03:50):
Yeah, right, So she is she a major as I mean,
this partner of hers, that's apparently been rounded up as
a spy for China. What's the outfall of this?

Speaker 3 (03:59):
No, No one's heard of the woman. She's a Scottish
labor Repee Reid and her household has been arrested as
part of this spying ring. Investigation by the police about
people who are spying for China A big deal. You
might think I have one or two doubts about it all.

(04:22):
But nonetheless I'll tell you, Mike, when you hear a
statement like this from Joony Reid talking about her spouse
Dayy Tail, that has been arrested. Neither I nor my
children are part of this investigation, and we should not
be treated by media organizations as though we are. Above all.

(04:42):
I expect media organizations to respect my children's privacy. It
makes me hate her, what I mean? I had some
sympathy because I have my doubts about this confected sort
of fury about China, But as soon as I read that,

(05:06):
I don't nah bang to rights.

Speaker 1 (05:11):
By the way, since we last talked, just briefly, Rachel
gave her update on the coming Spring document and announced
that there were no more Texas and she had some
growth forecasts. The growth forecast I looked out to twenty
seven to twenty eight. None of them seemed very good.
Did she sell it to a point that people would go,
I think things were a little bit bit clearly she's
onto something or as things as bad as I suspect

(05:32):
they are.

Speaker 3 (05:32):
Economically, I think underneath seems are as bad as you
suspect they are. But I think that on the surface
there has been a slout change, and I think you
see that in the bi election results. You see in
the figures which talk about immigraration lowered massively over the

(05:55):
last year. There is a change of home in this
country away from the people who loathe labor and reform
and actually tilting further left. I don't think Rachel Reeves
has endeared herself to the country, but she may not
have harmed labors standing much more with this spring budget.

(06:20):
What's it?

Speaker 1 (06:20):
This? Rabies things? How is this possible? What's going on here?

Speaker 3 (06:25):
Rabies? Mike? What the hell? What the hell? Just though
it used to this stuff. No, it's a poor British
orbanyd Ford who was scratched by a dog in Morocco
and no one knew what was wrong with her. She
got worse and worse and worse and eventually died. It's
just a reminder it's the first death from rabies in

(06:47):
this country god knows how many years, and a reminder
that other countries still have rabies around. I don't know,
do you guys have it?

Speaker 1 (06:57):
No, well, not not that I'm to have lately.

Speaker 3 (07:00):
No. Well you haven't got any mammals.

Speaker 1 (07:04):
Well that's the other nine. Yeah, we're we're moderately isolated.
But there's a there's a bee that comes here periodically
and we get a bit of exercise. I can't remember
what the bee is or the bug or some something,
but apart from that, I think we're okay. Rod.

Speaker 3 (07:17):
Anyway, listen, you're across the stories ed.

Speaker 1 (07:21):
Hundred percent on. Your mate knows to talk to you. Rod,
Little out of Britain swrnning brew Dog by the way,
which if you ever been to Britain you'll know about
brew Dog. They ran into tremendous amounts of trouble. They'd
looked like they were going under. They've been saved to
a degree, but not everyone's been saved. They bought the company,
bought the tilray, bought the brewing operations, brought the brand,
bought eleven pubs, thirty three million pounds, but they preserved

(07:44):
seven hundred and thirty three jobs, but four hundred and
eighty four jobs and thirty eight bars have not been saved.

Speaker 2 (07:52):
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