SIR KEIR STARMER was under growing pressure to take a stand on the US aggression against Venezuela from MPs across the Commons today.

Anger was growing as Downing Street indicated that Britain would abstain in any vote on the issue at the United Nations security council.

A senior government source told The Times that “this was a decision by the US. It is not for us make a judgment on whether it was lawful” — a view that would make the UN’s opinion redundant.

Imperiling his self-advertised position as a champion of international law, Sir Keir ducked and dived to avoid criticising US President Donald Trump’s lawless attack on Venezuela and promiscuous threats against other countries.

He did, however, indicate that the US should stop threatening to take over Danish-ruled Greenland.

“Denmark is a close ally in Europe, it is a Nato ally, and it’s very important the future of Greenland is only for Greenland and the Kingdom of Denmark,” he said.

But on Venezuela Sir Keir could only bleat “international law is really important. It’s the framework, and it’s for the US to set out its justifications for the actions that it’s taken. It is a complicated situation.”

Foreign affairs committee chair Emily Thornberry was in less doubt, arguing: “There is no legal basis for this and it sets a really bad precedent for countries such as China and Russia, who may also think: ‘Well, we’ve got spheres of influence, why can’t we do things like that?’

“And it’s quite difficult to say that they can’t, given that America has done it and there have been no consequences and very little criticism, at least from Western governments.”

Downing Street dismissed her worries, saying it was not “massively helpful to get into hypothetical scenarios or make comparisons.”

Labour MPs slamming Sir Keir’s evasions included Clive Lewis, who said “this silence isn’t diplomacy — it’s the moral equivalent of a white flag,” while Diane Abbott told the Premier that “if you cannot say this is illegal all your talk of human rights, the law and democracy is so much hot air.”

Green Party leader Zack Polanski said that “the more Starmer insists he’s “long been an advocate for international law,” the more hollow it sounds. This isn’t ignorance. It’s a choice — made with eyes wide open.”