SIR KEIR STARMER is “lying to the British public” on the war on Iran that has “detonated a bomb” on the world’s economy, campaigners slammed yesterday.

The comments came as the Prime Minister insisted Britain would not get “dragged into the Iran war” during Labour’s launch of its local elections campaign in Wolverhampton.

He said: “People look at their screens and they’re worried when they see explosions, infrastructure blown up, the rhetoric that goes with it.

“And therefore it’s really important that I reiterate where I stand and where this government stands, because this is not our war and we are not going to be dragged into it.”

He said that this applies “whatever the pressure” to join in and “whoever it’s coming from.”

But campaigners pointed out that the claims were not true.

Stop the War Coalition convener Lindsey German said: “Keir Starmer is lying to the British public when he claims Britain isn’t being dragged into the US’s war on Iran.

“And people aren’t fooled by his claims that our military bases are being used only for defensive purposes, because the fact is that RAF Fairford is being used to illegally attack Iran.”

Ms German said that if the PM “wants to be believed, then he must stop collaborating with [US President] Donald Trump and break with the US entirely over foreign policy.”

She said: “We need a foreign policy based on equality and justice and on welfare, not warfare, not on imperialism and endless wars.”

War on Want senior campaigner Neil Sammonds called the PM’s claims “absurd” as “the UK is already involved.”

“British bases are being used by US warplanes attacking Iran, and the RAF is helping to defend Israel,” he said.

“Although Starmer pretends otherwise, Israel started the war alongside the US with its criminal acts of aggression against Iran.

“The UK must stop supporting the costly and illegal US-Israel war — which has killed at least 1,900 Iranians so far — stop arming genocidal Israel and finally stand up for justice and international law.”

Global Justice Now director Nick Dearden also disputed the claim, saying: “Rather than letting Trump use bases to launch attacks, and sending the King to Washington to whitewash Trump’s crimes, Starmer needs to work to bring this crisis to an end, and he can start by being honest about who started this war.

“This is not an unfortunate accident, it’s a deliberate, brutal and incredibly dangerous series of attacks by Trump and [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu.

“Not only is this war claiming thousands more lives and further destabilising the world, it has also detonated a bomb underneath the world economy and we will all have to live with the consequences for many years to come.”

Mr Dearden said that the US president is currently “the biggest threat to our peace, security and wellbeing,” adding: “We need to stop being his poodle and stand up to him, not least through delinking our economy, and developing a properly independent foreign policy.”

Sir Keir also told the event that he hoped that recent measures on the cost of living, including a lower energy price cap and an increase in the minimum wage, to mitigate the war’s impact on the economy would translate into votes.

He stressed his party understood that “whatever is going on in the world, whatever is going on in politics, most people are concerned most of all about the cost of living.”

But a Momentum spokesperson said that his pledge “rings hollow,” adding: “If his government was serious about tackling the spiralling crisis, it would genuinely oppose the war and take action at home by controlling rents, capping everyday food prices and bringing energy into public ownership.”

Labour approaches the May 7 elections struggling in the polls and facing challenges from both Reform UK and the Green Party.

The Prime Minister later met with energy, shipping and banking bosses to call for a “joint effort” to tackle the impact of the war, saying the government “can’t do it on its own.”