Kemi Badenoch refuses to apologise for comment about RAF 'just hanging around' in the Middle East
Defence Secretary John Healey said the remark “insults the men and women of our armed forces” and that she should apologise.
Kemi Badenoch has refused to apologise for claiming the RAF is “just hanging around” in the Middle East.
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The Conservative leader has faced criticism and calls for an apology over her previous remarks.
However, she has doubled down, rejecting calls for an apology, insisting she was criticising the government, not the armed forces members.
She said: “I’ve been asked this several times. I was criticising the Government, that they’re not doing enough, and they are the ones hanging around.
“HMS Dragon is still in Portsmouth, well over a week after it should have left.
“France has sent about 10 ships to the Mediterranean. The French president is in Cyprus.”
Read more: Commander of British forces in Cyprus 'given everything' he asked for to respond to Iranian threats
Mrs Badenoch added: “We are the ones who have a base in Cyprus. What is our Prime Minister doing?
“And instead, what he’s trying to do is use the soldiers as a human shield so that he’s not being criticised. I think that’s absolutely disgusting.
“The Prime Minister knows that I’m criticising him and his actions, and claiming that it’s the military that are being criticised when it’s them (the Government) means that they actually do not care about getting this right.
“All they care about is covering themselves, and I think that that is a disgrace.”
Mrs Badenoch has previously been asked whether she supported firing on Iranian missile bases, and said: “What else are our jets doing, just hanging around there?
“They need to be able to see who is attacking us and stop them from firing at British soldiers or even British people in hotels.”
Defence Secretary John Healey said the remark “insults the men and women of our armed forces” and that she should apologise.
Commenting on Mrs Badenoch’s assessment, Mr Healey said last week: “I was on the ground in our British base in Cyprus yesterday.
“I saw how our British forces are working round the clock, in the face of repeated air raid sirens, to protect British lives and British interests.
“And to suggest they’re ‘just hanging around’ to score political points insults the men and women of our Armed Forces.
“She should apologise and withdraw her comments.”
On Monday, Mr Healey told MPs HMS Dragon would sail from Portsmouth “in the next couple of days”.
Type 45 destroyer HMS Dragon is due to be sent to the eastern Mediterranean to help protect Cyprus and the RAF bases there from further drone or missile attacks by Iran and its proxies.
Calvin Bailey, MP for Leyton and Wanstead, responding to Kemi Badenoch’s latest comments on the Armed Forces, said: “It really shouldn’t be that hard for the Tory Leader to apologise and correct her insulting comments about our brave servicemen and women who are doing an amazing job to protect our people and our allies.
“Serious times require serious leadership. Kemi Badenoch’s repeated refusal to apologise shows her lack of care for our forces, her disengagement from the reality of this crisis, and her inability to put the British national interest first.”