Having courage to say no but canniness to make people hear yes could be useful lesson for PM

"The art of leadership is saying no, not yes.

It is very easy to say yes." Reportedly relayed to the Mail on Sunday while he was leader of the opposition in 1994, many will now wonder why Tony Blair did not rely on his own words when deciding whether to join the US in the invasion of Iraq nearly a decade later. The spectre of a second Gulf War hangs over all talk of UK foreign intervention, but it is felt most acutely on the Labour benches.

When Sir Keir Starmer announced on Sunday that he had given permission for US warplanes to fly defensive missions into Iran from UK bases, he pointedly referred to events two decades ago saying, "we all remember the mistakes of Iraq". He now finds himself with the polar opposite problem to Tony Blair - an apparently fraying relationship with the US borne out of his decision to initially say no to facilitating attacks on Iran.

Add into that, allies in the region sounding off about the apparent lack of a sufficient military response from the UK to help repel Iranian reprisals. The prime minister's first press conference since this war began was an attempt to answer these criticisms.

On our military presence, he pointed to British fighter jets that had been deployed in the run-up to the conflict - and announced that more were on the way to the region. There was also a defence of the UK government's relatively critical tone towards the US-led operation.

The decision not to join the strikes was "deliberate" and "I stand by it.