UK investigates leak of information from meeting about U.S. base request

2026-03-17 - 22:51

The British government on Tuesday opened an inquiry into how details of a top-secret national security ​meeting to discuss a U.S. request to use British military ‌bases at the start of the Iran conflict were leaked to a journalist. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer initially blocked the U.S. from using the air base ​of Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean and RAF Fairford in ​England, before later allowing the U.S. to use the bases ⁠for “defensive” strikes against Iranian targets. Senior ministers who attended a meeting of ​the National Security Council were divided over whether to grant the initial ​U.S. request, the Spectator magazine reported. While Starmer was in favour of giving the U.S. permission to use the bases, there was opposition from his energy minister Ed ​Miliband and his finance minister Rachel Reeves, according to the report in ​the Spectator, which was then picked up by several media outlets. Antonia Romeo, the government’s ‌most ⁠senior official, said in a letter to an opposition party politician that the leak inquiry had started. She said leaks undermine Britain’s relations with other countries, particularly the U.S.-led “Five Eyes” intelligence alliance. The government “is conducting an ​inquiry into this unauthorised ​disclosure which ⁠draws on the full range of powers at their disposal,” she wrote in the letter. Asked for comment, a ​government spokesperson said: “We don’t have anything to add to ​the letter ⁠for now.” U.S. President Donald Trump has repeatedly hit out at Starmer since the conflict with Iran started, complaining he was not doing enough to help ⁠him. On Monday, ​Trump said there were “some countries that greatly ​disappointed me” before he singled out Britain, which he said had once been considered “the Rolls-Royce ​of allies”.