Keir Starmer has been accused of the “mother of all U-turns” after giving the US the green light to expand their use of RAF bases to bomb Iran.

Downing Street announced that American jets will be allowed to use British bases to strike sites targeting the Strait of Hormuz.

It marks a significant shift in the government’s approach to the UK’s involvement in the war.

Starmer initially refused Donald Trump’s request to use RAF bases to bomb Iran at the start of the war.

However, the prime minister then decided to allow them to launch “defensive” missions against missile launch sites.

A Downing Street spokesman said those attacks can now be expanded as part of efforts to re-open the Strait of Hormuz, which carries around one-fifth of the global oil supply.

Its closure due to attacks by Iran on oil tankers has sent the price of oil soaring and sparked fears of a global economic crisis.

The No.10 spokesman said: ”[Ministers] confirmed that the agreement for the US to use UK bases in the collective self-defence of the region includes US defensive operations to degrade the missile sites and capabilities being used to attack ships in the Strait of Hormuz.

“They reaffirmed that the principles behind the UK’s approach to the conflict remain the same: the UK remains committed to defending our people, our interests and our allies, acting in accordance with international law and not getting drawn into the wider conflict.

“Ministers underlined the need for urgent de-escalation and a swift resolution to the war.”

Despite the shift in the UK’s position, Trump told reporters Starmer “should have acted a lot faster”.

Posting on X, Tory leader Kemi Badenoch said the PM had performed “the mother of all U-turns”.

Shadow defence secretary James Cartlidge added: “After weeks of dither and finger pointing, the prime minister has once again changed his mind and performed yet another screeching U-turn.

“The prime minister had the Navy’s only active minesweeper taken out of the Gulf a week before the war began. He dithered about sending a warship to help defend our base in Cyprus. And where we have been clear from the outset that we would have allowed our closest military ally to use our bases, Starmer has been all over the place.

“When we need strong leadership in challenging times, Starmer is weak and indecisive.”

Dame Jenni Murray, the veteran journalist best known as the longest-serving host of the BBC’s Woman’s Hour, has died at the age of 75.

In a post on the Radio 4 show’s Instagram page on Friday evening, the channel’s controller Mohit Bakaya said: “Jenni Murray was a formidable voice in British broadcasting who was warm, fearless and beloved by listeners.

“During her decades at Woman’s Hour, she helped shape the national conversation with intelligence, rigour and a remarkable ability to connect with audiences. Jenni leaves an indelible legacy on generations of listeners.

“We are profoundly grateful for her outstanding contribution to Radio 4, and she will be deeply missed.”

Dame Jenni began presenting Woman’s Hour in 1987, before officially stepping down more than 30 years later, in October 2020.

Prior to that, she had worked at other flagship BBC shows including Newsnight and Radio 4’s Today Show.

She continued to work in journalism following her Woman’s Hour departure, writing for the likes of the Daily Mail and Saga magazine.

In 2011, she was awarded a damehood by the late Queen Elizabeth II for services to broadcasting.

The BBC’s outgoing director-general Tim Davie also paid his respects on Friday, saying: “This is incredibly sad news and our thoughts are with all of Dame Jenni’s family and friends. Dame Jenni was, simply put, a broadcasting icon.

“Throughout her three groundbreaking decades on Woman’s Hour, Jenni created a safe space for her audience thanks to her warmth, intelligence and courage.

“We shall all miss her terribly. Her legacy endures in the countless conversations she started, the many issues she championed and the lives she touched.”

As leadership election launches ago, it was pretty inauspicious.

Fewer than a dozen Labour MPs were present as Angela Rayner got to her feet in the basement of a Whitehall pub to make it clear she wants to replace Keir Starmer as prime minister.

Addressing the soft-left campaign group Mainstream’s spring reception, the former deputy PM said the government was “running out of time” to deliver the change Labour promised before the election.

“It needs to be felt, and we have to show that it’s a Labour government that will deliver it,” Rayner declared, before going on to take aim at home secretary Shabana Mahmood’s immigration crackdown.

Plans to double the length of time it takes for migrants – including two million who are already in the UK – to be granted permanent residency are “un-British”, Rayner said.

“That would not just be bad policy, but a breach of trust,” she told those present. “The people already in the system who made a huge investment now fear for their future.

“We cannot talk about earning a settlement if we keep moving the goalposts because moving the goalposts undermines a sense of fair play.”

Sources close to Rayner have also let it be known that the HMRC investigation into her tax affairs – the main impediment to any leadership bid – will be dealt with in time for the UK-wide elections on May 7.

By happy coincidence, that is when Starmer is expected to face moves to unseat him, assuming the results in Scotland, Wales and England are as catastrophic for the party as the opinion polls suggest.

Labour MP Karl Turner told HuffPost UK this week: “If we do badly in Scotland, Wales and up and down regions of England the PM will undoubtedly face a challenge.”

Rayner’s blatant manoeuvring has triggered an angry backlash from many Labour figures, not least those who saw her up close when she was the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government.

“She wasn’t up to running her department, never mind the country,” said one former aide. “She couldn’t even get the bins emptied in Birmingham.”

That is a reference to the long-running strike by refuse workers in England’s second biggest city.

“She used to sit in meetings and ask why the strike was going on, when ending it was literally her job.”

Even if she is cleared by the taxman, the fact that she was forced to resign from government for failing to pay the right amount of stamp duty will continue to haunt her.

A Labour source said: “Making Angie prime minister isn’t going to make things any better for the party because most voters think she doesn’t pay her tax.”

One senior party insider said they were baffled that Rayner had chosen to criticise Mahmood’s immigration reforms.

“The public support for what Shabana is doing is enormous, it’s probably the most popular thing the government is doing,” he said.

“The party will struggle to get a hearing if it suddenly changes its mind on something with such strong public support. There is absolutely no sign out there that the public think this is something that they have to change.

“This is the territory Labour gets itself into all the time – talking to itself rather than to the country at large.”

Writing in The Guardian, Rayner pointed out that centre-left parties in Canada, Australia and Norway “surged back to win again” in the face of challenges from right-wing populists.

“They showed they would tackle the issues that mattered most to people, and voters decided that a progressive government that puts people first and lowers costs for ordinary people was the better choice,” she wrote.

But one Labour MP said: “Her comparisons to Norway, Australia and Canada undermine her fundamental thesis – that there needs to now be a change because time is of the essence.

“In each country Rayner cites, the governing party bounced back in the final year of the parliamentary term before going on to win.

“This is a view which seeks to falsely cherry pick countries, ignoring the dramatic fall in support for centre left parties across advanced democracies in Europe – whether it be in France, in Germany or in Italy.”

Another backbencher said: “Where’s Angela’s vision? It’s all very well criticising, but there’s no substance.

“What would she do to tackle the energy crisis, the geopolitical headwinds, or young people not in work, education or training? She’s got nothing to say on any of those things.”

Although it may still seem unlikely, there is a small but growing body of opinion within Labour that Starmer may still be leader long after May 7.

“At the moment, he’s the least worst option,” a Labour veteran told HuffPost UK.

“A lot of people doubt whether Rayner’s up to it, and there’s a suspicion that Wes [Streeting] is all style and no substance. Andy Burnham can’t even get a seat so he’s out of the equation.

“Out of them all I’d probably favour Shabana, but the immigration stuff puts me off. Sending girls back to Afghanistan is beyond the pale, in my opinion.”

“There is definitely a world in which Keir is still there at the end of the year,” said a former Labour adviser.

“The right of the party have worked out none of their candidates stand a chance of winning with the members, and the left are getting everything they want from Starmer anyway, so why bother changing it?”

Angela Rayner has fired the starting gun on the race to succeed Starmer. It is yet to be seen whether she will make it to the finishing line.