Ed Miliband led Cabinet opposition to President Trump’s military action in Iran and the use of Britain’s bases, reportedly presenting a “petulant, pacifist, legalistic and very political” case for spurning the US. The Telegraph has the story.

In a meeting on Friday ahead of the strikes, Miliband, Rachel Reeves and Yvette Cooper are understood to have strongly opposed British support for pre-emptive military action, which they believed would be illegal.

Sir Keir Starmer backed them, and resisted pressure from Donald Trump to allow the US to fly bombing runs to Iran from RAF bases in Gloucestershire and the Chagos Islands.

The Prime Minister changed his position less than 48 hours later and American B-2 stealth bombers are due to arrive at Diego Garcia, the military base in the Chagos Islands, in the next few days to fly “limited, defensive” missions.

Trump has warned that major US strikes are still to come, as Iran continues to attack Western allies around the Gulf and the Middle East.

On Wednesday, one missile was intercepted heading towards a Turkish base hosting US troops, threatening to drag another Nato ally into the war.

The US also sank an Iranian warship with a submarine near Sri Lanka, the first such strike since Britain’s attack on the General Belgrano during the Falklands war.

But domestic and international pressure is building on Trump to explain his strategy for the war, with Germany warning that regime change cannot happen without boots on the ground.

Miliband, the Energy Secretary, voiced his strong opposition to the impending US airstrikes at a National Security Council meeting on Friday, convened to discuss the potential impact of the conflict on Britain’s energy supply.

The meeting followed more than a fortnight of angry exchanges with Trump and his officials, including a row between Matt Collins, the UK’s Deputy National Security Adviser, and Elbridge Colby, the Under Secretary of Defence for Policy in the Pentagon.

Relying on a legal opinion by Lord Hermer, the Attorney General, Miliband reportedly presented a “petulant, pacifist, legalistic and very political” case against the strikes and any UK involvement.

A source told the Spectator: “He fundamentally doesn’t like Trump, and he doesn’t like this Iran thing.”

He was backed by the Chancellor and Foreign Secretary, who argued for Sir Keir to hold firm against pressure from Washington to join the war.

John Healey, the Defence Secretary, was reportedly in favour of allowing British bases to be used to defend allies from Iran’s retaliations.

The Prime Minister agreed with Miliband but reversed his position on Sunday after a fresh request from the US to use British bases solely for “limited, defensive” strikes against Iranian missile facilities targeting Western allies.

Sir Keir’s initial decision to block the use of Diego Garcia prompted heavy criticism from Mr Trump.