|  | Tony Diver Political Editor | Forty-eight hours after Sir Keir Starmer’s dramatic decision to allow Donald Trump to use British bases to strike Iran, his Cabinet’s views on the issue are trickling out.
In a National Security Council meeting on Friday, Ed Miliband is understood to have led the charge against any British involvement, arguing that they would be illegal.
He was backed, according to reports, by Yvette Cooper and Rachel Reeves – two of the most senior ministers in the Cabinet – who relied on advice from Lord Hermer, the Attorney General.
Miliband, who led opposition to British strikes on Assad’s Syria in 2013, is reported to have made a “petulant, pacifist, legalistic” case against allowing Trump to use RAF bases in the region for pre-emptive strikes. | Shepherd boys in Syria inspect an unexploded Iranian projectile | The meeting is a stark depiction of how Starmer was torn between appeasing the Left of his party and the Trump administration in Washington. No 10 sources strongly deny claims he had been willing to accede to Trump’s demands, only to be talked out of it by Miliband.
All sides of this debate are acutely aware that their decisions will be picked over and pulled apart once any military action is complete, especially if it goes wrong. The administration is packed with veterans of the Blair years, and comparisons to the war in Iraq are all too easy – and painful.
Read the full story here ➤ | | A rocket seen over Tel Aviv this morning | .png) | Tom Cotterill Defence Editor | Iranian missile strikes continued to cause mayhem across the Middle East overnight.
Tehran launched a salvo against Israel shortly after 2am, with alerts sounding across Jerusalem and Tel Aviv.
Iran also targeted the headquarters of Kurdish groups in Iraqi Kurdistan with three missiles, according to the IRNA news agency.
The strikes came after reports last night that Iranian Kurds in Iraq were preparing to launch a ground invasion of Iran.
In Kuwait, a tanker was struck by a “large explosion”, while in Qatar, residents near the US embassy in Doha were evacuated.
Israel launched retaliatory strikes, with blasts reported in the Iranian capital of Tehran, and there were deadly Israeli air strikes in Lebanon. | Smoke rises following an Israeli air strike in Beirut’s southern suburbs | The Pentagon released the names of two soldiers killed by an Iranian drone in Kuwait. Major Jeffrey O’Brien, of Waukee, Iowa, and Chief Warrant Officer 3 Robert M Marzan, of Sacramento, California, were named as the fifth and sixth American casualties of the war.
Meanwhile, the first flight chartered by the British Government to evacuate Britons from the Middle East reportedly failed to take off from the Omani capital of Muscat, with passengers branding the situation a “total s---show”.
Follow the latest updates here ➤ | | Iran’s threat to burn any ship that dares to cross the Strait of Hormuz might sound more like the ravings of an 18th-century pirate than government policy, writes James Rothwell. However, it is a shrewd and dangerous move by the Iranian regime – one that could drag Donald Trump into a complex maritime conflict that could bleed away American support for this war. Tehran hopes to entrap the US navy in a risky and expensive operation in the Strait of Hormuz that could last as long as the regime stands.
This piece of insightful journalism is only available to subscribers. Click below and sign up to read it. Continue reading ➤ | |  | | Six days into the war, an American strategy seems to be emerging. The Trump administration, we now know, aims to topple the regime and prevent Iran from exporting terror. According to reports, the CIA has already begun to work with Kurdish forces on the western border, in the hope of using them as a proxy force inside the country. Kurds alone would not be enough for such ambitious goals, however. Washington would need to incite Azeris to the north and Baluch to the east to accrue enough fighters to form an even remotely serious alternative to American “boots on the ground”. The risks of such a strategy barely need spelling out, given the history of similar American efforts in the Middle East.
Continue reading ➤
Iran is ‘running out of missiles’ ➤ | | | | | Troops were seen boarding HMS Dragon yesterday | | Sir Keir Starmer insists he needs a “lawful basis” before dragging Britain into the US-Israeli war with Iran. However, Donald Trump is rapidly losing patience, mocking the Prime Minister as not being “Winston Churchill”. After a drone struck a British air base in Cyprus and British forces faced fire in Bahrain, the neat legal line between defence and offence is blurring. Despite Starmer’s careful positioning, retaliation may be inevitable.
Continue reading ➤
US stealth bombers to land at British bases ‘in days’ ➤ | | | | | Emmanuel Macron spoke at the Île Longue submarine base on Monday | | Once mocked as France’s lame duck president, Emmanuel Macron has found unexpected stature in the Iran crisis, writes Henry Samuel. While condemning US-Israeli strikes as unlawful, he has deployed French forces to the region, earning praise from Donald Trump and highlighting a growing strategic contrast with Britain in what may prove to be his “freedom fries” redemption. Continue reading ➤ | | | Allister Heath The PM is unable to respond to the implosion of the global status quo other than by incanting Leftist platitudes Continue reading ➤ Allison Pearson Rachel Reeves’s Freudian slip betrayed the truth about this Government Continue reading ➤ Michael Deacon The Greens are finally coming under serious scrutiny – and they’re rattled Continue reading ➤ | | To make sure you don’t miss our newsletters when they land in your inbox, click here. | | Angela Rippon dances with Sir Lindsay Hoyle during an event in Parliament | | James Watt’s dream of building a beer empire to rival the giants has unravelled in stunning fashion, writes Tom Haynes | | BrewDog has been sold to a US consumer goods company for an unremarkable £33m – a spectacular fall from grace for a company that was valued at £2bn just five years ago. The “equity punks” whose investments funded the Scottish craft beer brand’s meteoric rise will walk away empty-handed. As Tom Haynes reports, some critics blame the hubris of co-founder James Watt for BrewDog’s collapse. For subscribers only ➤ | | | When our 26-year-old nanny called my husband “sexy”, an inkling I’d had for several months crystallised into a full-blown suspicion, writes Anonymous. Yet, while most wives would immediately show her the door, I refuse to act. After all, a good nanny is harder to find than a husband – and frankly, I have absolute faith in my partner. Continue reading ➤ | | | Harry Styles’s fourth solo album lacks substance, writes Neil McCormick | | ★★★☆☆
Pop’s leading man is back with his fourth solo album, Kiss All the Time. Disco, Occasionally, ahead of a blockbuster 12-night residency at Wembley. However, writes Neil McCormick in his three-star review, can these forgettable, feather-light melodies really fill a stadium? With the album sounding like it could soundtrack an episode of Emily in Paris, the former One Directioner might have a problem of style over substance. Continue reading ➤ | | | What is the longest you’ve ever stayed awake? A day and a half, on a tight deadline? Two days, in your hedonistic youth? Norme, an Australian YouTuber, managed 11 full days in 2024, writes Guy Kelly. He was attempting the controversial – and now banned – world record for sleep deprivation. I spoke to Norme, who described it as “f---ing awful”, and found out why the findings of this extreme feat of human endurance have baffled scientists for years. Continue reading ➤ | | | Now an official National Trail, Wainwright’s 190-mile Coast to Coast route, between St Bees Head on the west coast and Robin Hood’s Bay on the east, via three National Parks, should be on every hiker’s bucket list. Travel writer Sarah Baxter recently completed it. She explains what makes it so special, and reveals the scenic highlights and the best pitstops so you can start planning your own trip. Continue reading ➤ Here is another helpful article for you this morning: | Gen Z is coming for your pixie cut Trends come and go, so they say. It’s hard to keep track of what’s in and what’s out. In this edition, LA Robinson, our tuned-in Lifestyle Writer, investigates the return of cultural crazes.  | LA Robinson Lifestyle Writer | When Gwyneth Paltrow debuted her piecey blonde pixie cut in 1997, her then-boyfriend Brad Pitt loved it so much he copied it – or did she copy him? Chicken or egg, they had the same hair stylist and the look went down in the annals of 1990s hair history. The pixie was reinforced as the cut du jour, such is the power of Paltrow and Pitt.
It wasn’t just stylish. It was abundantly practical, perfect for any woman wanting a lower-maintenance hairstyle or struggling with brittle strands post-menopause. Then, sometime in the 2000s, the practical pixie lost its cool. It became *gasp* mumsy, associated with the likes of Anne Robinson and Shirley from EastEnders. If you were the proud owner of a short crop I’m sorry. Nobody said trend cycles were fair!
Then I saw one. In the wild, last week, in the smoky dark room of the Burberry fashion week after-party – there could be no more certain stam of cool. This closely-cropped pixie was bottled blonde, slicked and swirled to 1920s starlet perfection. I had initially thought it belonged to the head of Iris Law, the daughter of Jude Law and Sadie Frost, who was just another nepo baby until she chopped off her long, dark locks into an acid-bleached crop. Now she’s a top model and the unofficial Gen Z poster girl for short hair.
It turns out I had only seen an Iris lookalike – but if imitation is the highest form of flattery, the pixie is back in a big way. Is it really fair that these bouncy-cheeked, sharp-jawlined twentysomethings are claiming it as their own? Perhaps not. Hey, cheer up! One day they’ll discover perms, and you can smugly sit back and smile.
Are you glad to see the pixie back in action? Let me know your thoughts here. | | Buddhist monks take part in Makha Bucha celebrations at Wat Dhammakaya Buddhist temple in Thailand. | | Babes in arms Every weekday, Orlando Bird, our loyal reader correspondent, shares an off-piste topic that has brought out the best of your opinions and stories. Orlando writes...
I have now, somehow, been a parent for nearly a year and a half. It has been joyous, fascinating, funny – and pretty much every other positive adjective used to describe the experience. However, as I emerge from yet another super-strength lurgy courtesy of my daughter’s nursery, I wouldn’t say it has been a breeze, exactly, and I wasn’t the one who had to give birth in the first place.
It was interesting, then, to read Jack Rear’s account of his meeting with Lorraine Kelly, along with her mother, daughter and granddaughter. The TV presenter suggested that birth rates have been falling because parenthood – and especially motherhood – is no longer presented as a matter of ups and downs, but rather as straightforwardly “hellish”. Although there are plenty of other factors at play, I suspect there’s some truth in this.
Readers have been reflecting on their experiences. Paul Smith wrote: “I think she is right. Parenthood is perceived as very hard work, and barely worth it. My partner and I were ready to have kids in our twenties, but it just seemed too much for us to deal with on top of our careers. So childless we stayed.”
Deborah Lingham, however, felt there wasn’t enough candour: “I know for certain now that becoming a mum unexpectedly in my forties was the best thing I ever did. However, the first few months were hard, lonely, repetitive, boring and depressing.
“Women aren’t always honest about babies. There is too much competitiveness over what motherhood should be, rather than a recognition that many wonder: ‘What the hell have I done?’ No surprise that so many who don't fit into the ‘perfect mum and baby’ box struggle with post-natal depression.”
Joanne Bradshaw added: “Women were told that being a mum was fantastic and made to feel bad if they complained. The reality is that it’s hard work, very draining and not always rewarding.”
For Gordon Welsh, “you do your best and find your own way. I think one problem is that folk think they should be issued with a hardship-immunity certificate. My advice to young parents is to stay off social media, listen to your mum and dad (for once) and just dig in. It gets better, but you’re in for a bumpy ride – though one with huge rewards.” Send your responses here, and the best of the bunch will feature in a future edition of From the Editor PM, for which you can sign up here.
Please confirm in your reply that you are happy to be featured and that we have your permission to use your name. | | Find as many words as you can in today’s Panagram, including the nine-letter solution. Visit Telegraph Puzzles to play a range of head-scratching games, including PlusWord, Sorted, and Quick, Mini or Cryptic Crosswords.
Yesterday’s Panagram was FULFILLED. Come back tomorrow for the solution to today’s puzzle. | |
Thank you for reading. Have a fulfilling day and I hope to see you tomorrow. Chris Evans, Editor
P.S. I’d love to hear what you think of this newsletter. You can email me your feedback here. | |
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