Labour, Conservative and Liberal Democrat MPs have united in criticism of the government’s muted response to the US capture of Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro, accusing Keir Starmer and Yvette Cooper of failing to uphold international law.
Speaking in the Commons on Monday, Labour’s Emily Thornberry said the abduction of a head of state by a larger power amounted to a breach of international law, and demanded that the foreign secretary condemn it. Richard Burgon, another Labour MP, noted that Starmer had chosen not to explain his decision to disregard the UN charter over the attack.
Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey called Maduro a brutal dictator but insisted that did not give Donald Trump a free pass for illegal action. Former Conservative foreign secretary Jeremy Hunt warned that inaction over Venezuela risked emboldening the US to annex Greenland, which could spell the end of Nato.
Cooper told the Commons she had stressed the importance of international law in a call with US counterpart Marco Rubio but declined to label the raid illegal, saying it was for Washington to justify. Starmer said he wanted to establish the facts before passing judgment, while robustly defending Denmark’s sovereignty over Greenland.
