Statement from Ruth Cadbury on Iran

''The events that we have witnessed across Iran, and the Middle East have been extremely concerning and I know that constituents will have been watching the news with worries and fears for the future, and what this conflict brings.

As many of you will have read and seen on Saturday morning the United States and Israel took military action against Iran and Iran responded to US and Israeli attacks with the bombing of targets in Israel and the Gulf States, along with further attacks on UK and US bases, including the RAF base in Cyprus.  

The Prime Minister Keir Starmer confirmed that the UK did not join the offensive strikes taken by the US and Israel on Saturday morning and did not allow the US or Israel to use UK bases for these initial strikes launched against Iran.

It is a matter of principle for me that I do not support the offensive action that was taken by the United States & Israel, nor do I support the subsequent response by Iran. The attacks on civilian targets across the Gulf are particularly wrong, and show a callous disregard from Iran towards the people killed and maimed.

I know that many Iranians living across West London will be concerned about the scenes we are witnessing and the future for their home country. My own belief is that the future of Iran must be decided by the Iranian people. The current Iranian regime is an oppressive and abhorrent one which has killed so many of its own people and spread terror and fear throughout the region. I have consistently spoken out against the Iranian regime and their appalling human rights record, including against women.

As many parliamentarians said this week in the House of Commons, we do not raise concerns about military action out of any sympathy with the Iranian regime, but rather because we are concerned about the future for Iran and its people.  

Military action in Iran and the Gulf has already caused the cost of gas to skyrocket, it has put pressure on a key transport artery for the world and it will naturally pull the international community’s attention away from existing conflicts and challenges such as in Ukraine, Sudan and the West Bank.

We are already seeing UK service personal under attack, and we know that wars can trigger large movements of people, and disturbances that last generations. This conflict will have a profound impact on the UK and on our politics. The Prime Minister has rightly said that for the UK to join the offensive action would be breach of international law. It is this very law which underpins the rules based international order that has existed from 1945 and for a reason. It provided stability, certainty and security for much of the world and underpinned the prosperity and success that we in the West have been able to enjoy.

I opposed the war in Iraq in 2003, and I fear that these strikes are repeating the same mistake. During the Iraq War the United States and UK took unilateral military action without a clear plan, without broad international support and without a clear legal basis for action. It was welcome that the Prime Minister explicitly mentioned the need to learn from the Iraq war and for the need for renewed diplomacy to solve the issues posed by Iran.

In the meantime, I am continuing to work to support the work the UK Government and the Foreign Office is doing to help any of my constituents and their family trying to get home to the UK from the Gulf.''