‘Embarrassing’: Starmer’s Gulf gambit misfires after Iran ceasefire
The Daily T
The Telegraph
4.1 • 702 Ratings
🗓️ 8 April 2026
⏱️ 38 minutes
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Summary
Just as the Middle East appeared to be on the brink of an uncontrollable conflict, the US and Iran have announced a two-week ceasefire.
The Pakistan-brokered deal will reopen the Strait of Hormuz – though with Tehran-imposed caveats – and offers “a chance at real peace”, says Pete Hegseth, the US defence secretary.
Sir Keir Starmer is now jetting off to the Gulf, apparently to boost the morale of British troops there. But, Camilla Tominey and Tim Stanley ask, what is the point of his Lawrence of Arabia-style jaunt if he had nothing to do with the truce – and indeed had insisted throughout that this was “not our war”?
Later, Gen Lord Dannatt, the former Army chief, told The Daily T that Britain has been “embarrassed” and “humiliated” by the Iran crisis and what it has revealed about our depleted defence capabilities.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | The Telegraph. |
| 0:09.1 | Cringeworthy and embarrassing. That's the verdict of Lord Danett, the former head of the British |
| 0:15.2 | army, as Kirstama arrives in the Gulf. Is he running away from his domestic problems? |
| 0:21.1 | The biggest one. |
| 0:22.2 | Why has Britain spent so little on defence |
| 0:24.6 | leaving us impotent during the Iran crisis? |
| 0:27.6 | Welcome to the Daily Tea with me, Camilla Tomini. |
| 0:29.9 | And me, Tim Stanley. |
| 0:50.0 | Thank you. Tim, the Daily T's going on the road, which you're pleased about, because you love coming on the road with me in my Mini Cooper, don't you? |
| 0:51.4 | Like Thelma and Louise. |
| 0:54.0 | Go into orbit on the M25. |
| 0:55.5 | Oh, you're driving quite far. |
| 0:57.4 | We were in a rush that day, won't we? That's right. |
| 0:58.2 | We might take the train, though, because we've got quite the geographical tour. |
| 1:02.5 | We're covering big distances. |
| 1:04.2 | It's not quite Route 66. |
| 1:05.7 | It's more Route M40. |
| 1:07.6 | But we're going to start in London on the 27th of April. |
| 1:13.8 | We're going to have a big evening event, still to be confirmed because we've got some, |
| 1:17.7 | I sound like Trump don't know, we've got some big level guests. |
| 1:20.2 | It's going to be huge. |
| 1:21.2 | It's going to be huge. |
... |
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