LONDON, March 20 (Reuters) - The British government gave authorisation on Friday for the United States to use military bases in Britain to carry out strikes on Iranian missile sites that are attacking ships in the Strait of Hormuz.
British ministers met on Friday to discuss the war with Iran and Iran's blocking of the Strait of Hormuz, according to a Downing Street statement.
"They confirmed that the agreement for the U.S. to use UK bases in the collective self-defence of the region includes U.S. defensive operations to degrade the missile sites and capabilities being used to attack ships in the Strait of Hormuz," the statement said.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer said this week Britain would not be drawn into a war over Iran. He initially rejected a U.S. request to use British bases for the strikes on Iran, saying he needed to be satisfied that any military action was legal.
But Starmer modified his stance after Iran conducted strikes on British allies across the Middle East, saying that the United States could use RAF Fairford and Diego Garcia, a joint U.S.-UK base in the Indian Ocean.
President Donald Trump has repeatedly attacked Starmer since the conflict 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".
The Downing Street statement on Friday called for "urgent de-escalation and a swift resolution to the war".
Opinion polls in Britain suggest widespread scepticism about the war, with 59% of those surveyed by YouGov saying that they were opposed to the U.S.-Israeli attacks.
(Reporting by Andrew MacAskill; Editing by Hugh Lawson and Alison Williams)
