As the US stuck Iran and Britain hesitated, the limits of international law are laid bare — and Starmer’s legal caution is thrown into sharp relief, says Guy Stenhouse.

The law and the real world do not mix easily , especially at times of war. The American and Israeli attack on Iran is a classic example of this.

International law says that you are not supposed to attack another country unless it has attacked you or is just about to do so.

Keir Starmer knows this - he is a lawyer after all - and has made himself look an idiot by following the law.  First he denied the US use of British controlled bases because there was no legal basis for their attack on Iran.  Then, when Iran had the temerity to fire back, he allowed the bases to be used by US aircraft as long as they were engaged only in actions to take out missile launchers because this could be deemed a defensive action.

Does anybody actually believe there will be a British civil servant with a clipboard who interrogates US pilots as they return from a bombing mission to ascertain exactly what they have been doing?  If you believe that you may be rather foolish.  US aircraft are now taking off from British controlled bases to do whatever the US chain of command directs them to do.  Defence and offence are, in reality, rather blurred concepts once the shooting starts.

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Starmer has grasped a legal fig-leaf and in so doing has made himself look weak and naive as well as annoying our key military ally.  Not clever.

The League of Nations, set up after the First World War, failed to prevent the Second World War.  The United Nations, set up after the Second World War to establish and enforce laws on many things including conflicts, has been a failure too.

The UN is paralysed because it tries to be inclusive and has within its membership countries run by nutcases, such as Russia, North Korea and Iran.

Again and again UN resolutions and the action which might (but only might) follow them are thwarted through a veto by one or more profoundly undemocratic nations. 

Allied to the failure of the UN is the absurd sanctity given to nation States.  Sovereignty is everything - the unpleasant things a nation does to its citizens within its own borders may be a matter for some handwringing but never any action.

A hundred years ago if a man came back from the pub and beat his wife and children up then society and the law said nothing was to be done.  A man was master in his own house and others, including the police, should keep their noses out of private matters.

The position now may not be perfect but it is a lot better.  Society now think the walls of a house are no longer impenetrable to the law.  Those who are abused have the ability to seek help and domestic violence is subject to the full force of the law.

So why do we still think we should not intervene in a country such as Iran whose Government is rotten to the core ? 

Iran's stated policy is to destroy Israel and it has expended much time and effort over the years through proxies such as Hezbollah to that end.

Those who criticise the regime in Iran are dragged off the street never to be seen again.  Iran applies the death penalty hundreds of times a year.  Girls who don’t want to cover their faces are beaten up by religious police.

Do we really think that if there was a free and fair election in Iran the present regime would win?  Are we so cowardly and morally bankrupt to think it is right that nations who believe in freedom, democracy and fair justice should just sit back and watch?

The UN should be scrapped and replaced with a body which you cannot be a member of unless you are a democracy.

Until that happens evil must be confronted by those countries with the ability to do so. Russia should be confronted in Ukraine.  Taiwan should be able to rely on help from the free world.  The military Junta in Burma which bombs its citizens should fear for its future.

Iran is a sophisticated country with rich history and culture, ruined by a nasty theocratic Government.  That regime has noted the immunity from interference which having nuclear weapons enables North Korea to enjoy and wants to develop their own as a result.

Iran must be stopped from having nuclear weapons and its people given the chance to be free.  If there are laws which stop that happening then they are laws which should be ignored.

Donald Trump is generally not a man to admire but with the US intervention in Iran he is doing the right thing not just for a more stable world but for the people of Iran.  The UK should support what the US is doing. We must end the misguided adherence to discredited international law and do some good. 

Guy Stenhouse is a notable figure in the Scottish financial sector. He has held various positions, including being the Managing Director of Noble Grossart, an independent merchant bank based in Edinburgh, until 2017

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