Being one of America’s closest allies – which Britain remains – is like having a very rich friend. You are invited to meetings and parties to which you might not otherwise have access, and people listen to you because of your connections. Sometimes, though, your friend will expect a favour in return which you know might make you unpopular with others. It is the quid pro quo.

That relationship of unbalanced dependency has come under the spotlight since the United States launched Operation Epic Fury, its latest campaign against the Islamic Republic of Iran, at the weekend. America has an enormous military infrastructure in the Middle East with facilities in Qatar, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Kuwait, the UAE and Iraq. It has also deployed two aircraft carrier strike groups, the USS Abraham Lincoln and the USS Gerald R. Ford, to the region. But President Trump wanted specific assistance.

The United States asked for – and will have expected to receive – the necessary permissions to conduct operations from RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire and from the naval support facility Diego Garcia in the Chagos archipelago. The latter is currently part of the British Indian Ocean Territory but is being gift-wrapped and signed for presentation to the government of Mauritius, 1,300 miles away.

If Sir Keir Starmer has learned anything, it is that sometimes life comes at you fast

If Sir Keir Starmer has learned anything, it is that sometimes life........

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