Base mettle
Iran war , Issue 1674 DONALD TRUMP's repeated insults towards Keir Starmer over the UK's lack of support for the US attacks on Iran gave the embattled PM a rare boost at home for being seen to stand up to the US president. But the UK is helping the US rather more than Trump's complaints might suggest.

Starmer refused US requests to use their UK bases for "initial strikes" on Iran. But once Trump started the war, Starmer performed his familiar manoeuvre – the U-turn – allowing US bombers to attack missile launchers in Iran that were involved in attacks on UK bases, Gulf allies or ships.

Free launch
So, while Trump sneers about Starmer not being Churchill, US forces can launch B-1, B-2 and B-52 bombers and F-15 jets from RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire and other US bases in Britain.

In the more relaxed atmosphere of the arms-industry-sponsored London Defence Conference in March, defence secretary John Healey told delegates: "Even in this current conflict, the basing permissions that we in the UK have agreed with the US have been invaluable to their military operations."

Armed farces
Meanwhile, the government has made a dog's breakfast of appointing the first armed forces commissioner.

Defence secretary John Healey said the new role would create an "independent champion" for the forces and their families, bolstering the existing services ombudsman office with a boosted £5m budget and statutory powers to tackle issues including dilapidated housing, abuse and sexual misconduct, and welfare.

In January, the proposed start date, the field had been whittled down to five candidates. But a Ministry of Defence press release issued quietly on Easter Sunday unveiled former Royal Air Force commodore Polly Miller-Perkins as the new hire. Buried in the release was the telling detail that she was only an interim appointment while the search for a permanent fixture was restarted after the failure of the last one.

The Commons defence committee says this was due to "recruitment and legislative challenges" but gave no detail; and parliamentary questions on the process got woolly answers.