Kemi Badenoch confronted the Armed Forces minister for skipping a key vote on Labour's controversial Troubles law - but then turning up to save Keir Starmer.

The Tory leader is said to have berated Al Carns outside the House of Commons voting lobbies last night when she spotted he had helped rescue the Prime Minister.

Mr Carns was on Tuesday among 335 MPs to vote against launching a parliamentary investigation into Sir Keir over his appointment of disgraced peer Peter Mandelson.

But it came less than 24 hours after the defence minister missed a pivotal Commons vote on the Northern Ireland Troubles Bill.

It is feared the Government's proposed legislation will leave British Army veterans to be dragged through the courts for their actions in Northern Ireland. 

Mrs Badenoch is revealed to have rebuked Mr Carns for being present for Tuesday night's crunch vote on the PM, but not being around for Monday's vote on the Bill.

But Mr Carns, a former Royal Marine, hit back that he had been absent on Monday because he was visiting British troops across the Middle East amid the Iran war.

He was reported by Politico to have told Mrs Badenoch he was 'dealing with a crisis in the Middle East… that would have been far worse if you were in charge.'

Mr Carns is also said to have criticised the Tory leader for comments last month in which she suggested the UK military is 'just hanging around' in the Middle East.

As he battles for his political future, Sir Keir on Tuesday ordered Labour MPs to block a standards probe into the Lord Mandelson scandal.

The three-line whip imposed on Labour MPs sparked claims the PM is engaged in a 'cover-up' over his actions in appointing Lord Mandelson as Britain's US ambassador.

Mr Carns was among those to side with Sir Keir as the Commons rejected a motion to refer the PM to the privileges committee by 335 votes to 223, majority 112.

He had been absent from a vote on the Troubles Bill the previous evening when MPs voted to carry over the proposed legislation into the next parliamentary session.

The Bill was backed in a carry-over motion which means it will not become void when the Commons prorogues this week ahead of the state opening of Parliament in May.

The legislation has not been fully debated or passed by Parliament, and was set to otherwise fall.

If passed, the Bill will repeal and replace the Northern Ireland Troubles (Legacy and Reconciliation) Act 2023, which was introduced by the previous Tory government.

Labour is taking the action after the High Court in Belfast ruled that parts of the 2023 Act were incompatible with the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR).

The former Conservative administration was in the process of appealing that decision, but Labour dropped the appeal after the 2024 general election.

Labour's own Troubles Bill aims to replace the Act and end the immunity scheme in that legislation, prompting fears it will reopne the door to 'vexatious litigation' against British veterans.

In a social media post late on Tuesday night, Mr Carns - touted by some as a possible replacement for Sir Keir - defended his absence from Monday's vote on the Bill.

He said: 'I've spent the last few days in four countries across the Middle East visiting British Forces on live operations.

'Our Armed Forces personnel there are working with our allies and partners on the rapidly evolving situation. That's why I wasn't in Westminster for yesterday's vote on the Northern Ireland Legacy Bill.

'I understand why people feel strongly about this. But the crisis in the Middle East is already affecting us all and it's ongoing.

'I served for 24 years. I know what it means to be asked to put your life on the line for this country, and I know what we owe the people who do.

'For those who served in Northern Ireland, and for their families, this is not an abstract issue. It is about truth, justice, and how we treat those who put themselves on the line for our country.

'My focus is clear: to make sure the process does not become the punishment, to recognise the difference in law and in fact between those who served the state under orders and those who set out to harm it, and to support veterans and their families in getting as close as possible to truth, reconciliation and justice.

'I will continue working with colleagues across Government, in private as much as in public, to make sure we get this right.

'To everyone who served in Northern Ireland, and to the wider veteran community: that commitment does not change.

'To those that seek to divide the veteran community, question commitment, motivations, honour or question intent, that is your right to do so.

'And, to those that continue to engage and seek change for justice, let's keep doing so. We will get there.'