Steve Reed has told LBC that claims Iran can now strike European cities including Berlin and Paris are speculative and the UK's defences are "perfectly capable" of keeping the Isle safe
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Housing Secretary Steve Reed has dismissed suggestions by Israel that Iranian missiles are now capable of hitting the UK as "speculation" in the wake of this week's missile attack on Diego Garcia.
Sir Keir Starmer had been warned by Israel that Iran's weapons were now capable of reaching major European cities – including London, as the regime continues to develop long-range missiles.
Speaking on Sunday with Lewis Goodall, the Defence Secretary appeared to dismiss Israel's suggestions that the UK now faced a direct missile threat from Iran.
"We are perfectly capable of keeping the United Kingdom safe and that's what we've done," Reed insisted.
"Where there have been attempts to target British assets, as with the Diego Garcia, they have failed – and they will continue to fail. We have the resources we need to keep the United Kingdom safe from any kind of attacks whether it's on our soil or from (abroad)."
The comments come after Iran was seen to target Diego Garcia in the Chagos Islands on Friday, before the Government gave the US permission to strike missile sites targeting the Strait of Hormuz.
However, it remains unclear exactly when the two intermediate-range ballistic missiles were fired – and recent hours have seen a senior Iranian official deny responsibility for the attacks to Al Jazeera.
The Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) said it was the first time Tehran had launched a long-range missile since the start of the war.
They added that the strikes now signify that Iran is capable of reaching cities like London, Paris or Berlin.
“We have been saying it: The Iranian terrorist regime poses a global threat,” the IDF said in a statement.
"The first point is they didn't hit Diego Garcia," the Housing Secretary told LBC.
"Our assessment is that they targeted it with two missiles. One failed, the other was intercepted. So we have perfectly adequate resources to keep the United Kingdom safe. And everybody should feel reassured, reassured about this."
"The UK isn't going to get dragged into this war. We will provide the resources and have been providing the resources to keep our assets and our national.
"Whether that's the Typhoon jets, whether it's the Merlin and Wildcat helicopters, whether it's the hundreds of additional military personnel, we now have in the region, we are doing what we need to do to keep our people safe."
It comes as a senior Iranian official told Al Jazeera on Sunday that Iran was not behind the latest attack on the military base, located in the Indian Ocean.
It's a strike that was branded "reckless" by the UK – and showed the capabilities of Iran's weaponry.
Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper denied on Saturday that the UK is being dragged into the war with Iran on Saturday – despite the latest attack on Diego Garcia.
The Israeli military claimed the missiles could reach a distance of around 4,000km, posing a danger to dozens of countries in Europe, Asia and Africa.
Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper condemned Iran’s missile strikes on the joint US-UK base on Saturday while stressing that the UK will not be drawn into a wider conflict.
She said ministers support defensive action only and want to see a swift resolution to the war.
One of the missiles was shot down by a US warship while the other failed in flight, the Wall Street Journal reported.
Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch urged the Prime Minister to “come clean” about the details of the latest attack on British troops and explain why the public was not informed.
“Keir Starmer has dithered and delayed on the Iran conflict from the outset,” she said.
“Now we find out, from the media and not the Prime Minister, that the British base on Diego Garcia has been the target of Iranian missile attacks.
“The Prime Minister needs to immediately come clean about the details of this latest attack on British troops and explain why the public weren’t informed sooner.”
The Ministry of Defence (MoD) has so far declined to comment on when the attack was launched.
Sir Keir spoke to Cypriot president Nikos Christodoulides on Saturday morning, reiterating that RAF Akrotiri will not be used by the US to target Iranian missile sites.
He also spoke to the Crown Prince of Bahrain, Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, to discuss the war.
Diego Garcia is around 3,800km (2,360 miles) away from Iran and home to an airbase capable of accommodating long-range US bombers.
The UK has agreed to cede sovereignty of the islands to Mauritius and lease back the base.
Diego Garcia is strategically valuable to the US and has been used as a launchpad for operations in the Middle East for years.
It has a large airfield, major fuel storage facilities, radar installations and a deep-water port and is home to about 2,500 mostly American personnel.
Iran has escalated attacks on its Gulf neighbours in recent days while keeping a stranglehold on shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.
Early on Sunday, President Donald Trump wrote on Truth Social that Iran had 48 hours to “FULLY OPEN, WITHOUT THREAT, the Strait of Hormuz”, or the US would “obliterate” Iran’s power plants.
The Prime Minister will hold a Cobra meeting next week to discuss plans to help households with cost of living issues caused by the war, it is understood.
Lord Richard Walker, the cost-of-living tsar, said he has “asked the government to consider a temporary profit cap, if required, to stop producers and retailers exploiting the crisis to make windfall profits at the expense of consumers”.