Politics latest: Starmer to send UK fighter jets to Qatar as first repatriation flight set to land in UK – latest

The government’s first charter plane to evacuate British citizens from the Middle East is expected to land in the next few hours.

The plane was planned to leave Muscat, the capital of Oman, at 19:00 on Wednesday.

However, it was postponed overnight due to problems “getting passengers on board”. The flight actually took off around 14:00.

British Airways has announced it will operate its fourth daily flight from Muscat to London Heathrow (a route it does not normally serve) departing at 22.30 GMT on Saturday.

Sir Keir said: “We will be starting additional charter flights in the coming days.

“British Airways operates daily flights from Oman and we will continue to work with all our partners to increase the speed and capacity of this air transport.

“I want to be very clear, this is a huge undertaking.

“This is one of the largest operations of its kind and is many times larger than the evacuation from Afghanistan.

“This won’t happen overnight, but we won’t stop until our people are safe.”

More than 140,000 Britons have registered their assets in the Middle East with the Foreign Office.

Muscat international airport is small by Middle Eastern standards; In a normal year, it carries only one-eighth of Dubai’s passenger numbers.

But with airports in the UAE, Qatar and beyond either operating with only a fraction of normal operations or completely closed due to airspace restrictions, the airport in Oman’s capital is experiencing a surge in flights and passengers.

Qatar Airways, which has not carried passengers since the weekend, is opening a “mini hub” in Muscat. From Friday, a small number of jets with pilots and cabin crew will fly to London Heathrow, as well as Berlin, Copenhagen, Madrid, Rome and Amsterdam.

Announcing the dispatch of additional military assets to the region, Sir Keir said: “I can today announce that we have sent four additional Typhoon jets to join our fleet in Qatar to strengthen our defense operations in Qatar and across the region.”

Families will be offered £10,000 per member (limited to four per family) to leave the UK voluntarily. They will have seven days to respond and if they do not accept the offer, the Home Office will try to forcibly remove them from the country.

Our internal affairs correspondent Holly Bancroft reports:

Defense Secretary John Healey has refused to rule out the possibility of UK aircraft being involved in strikes on Iran.

During his visit to Cyprus, he was asked whether he would consider refusing to participate in offensive attacks against Iran.

In an interview with Sky News, he said: “In any conflict you have to be willing to adapt to the action you take as conditions change.

“I’m doing this by bringing in anti-drone helicopters overnight. I’ll do this by bringing in the Type 45 air defense destroyer in the next few weeks.”

“I am doing this by bringing together senior planners to coordinate the contribution that other nations are now starting to make… German frigates and Greek ships in the region are now also participating.”

Pressed again on whether he would rule out British aircraft taking part in offensive operations over Iran, he said: “Everything that we have done is defensive, is legal and is co-ordinated with other allies.

“This is one of the great strengths that Britain, its NATO allies and long-standing partners like Qatar, Jordan, Cyprus have when working with the British.”

Ireland’s foreign minister has refused to confirm whether he believes Israeli and American airstrikes on Iran violate international law.

Helen McEntee was questioned several times on Thursday about whether the two countries’ actions violated international law. He repeatedly mentioned that the UN does not have an authority, saying that for conflicts to be “justified”, “there must be a UN authority from the UN Security Council”.

On Saturday, the United States and Israel targeted Iran’s leadership, missile arsenal and nuclear program in a series of airstrikes.

Iran retaliated with thousands of unmanned aerial vehicles and ballistic missiles targeting Israeli, British and American military bases and embassies in the region and energy facilities in the Persian Gulf.

The war has killed more than 1,230 people in Iran, more than 100 in Lebanon and nearly a dozen in Israel, according to officials in those countries.

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps warned on Wednesday that they would set fire to any ships attempting to pass through the Strait of Hormuz after taking “full control” of the main shipping route.

Northern Ireland’s chief minister has accused the DUP of “advocating and cheerleading” the war in Iran.

Michelle O’Neill said the rise in oil prices was a “real-life reflection” of the war in the Middle East but insisted Sinn Fein and the DUP could “work together with a very different approach to what’s happening internationally”.

Hundreds of Northern Ireland citizens have been stranded in the region since last Saturday amid the conflict between Iran and the US and Israel, which has led to widespread airspace closures across the Middle East and major disruptions to flights.

The First Minister was also criticized by opposition parties for not attending Cabinet Office briefings on the situation in Iran alongside Deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly. Both faced criticism for not issuing a joint statement.

Labor wants its election watchdog to investigate donations to Reform UK after claiming the party has “serious questions to answer” about cryptocurrency.

Chairman Anna Turley has written to the Electoral Commission after the body’s quarterly report revealed Nigel Farage’s party had received a second multi-million pound donation from a Thailand-based billionaire; The donation boosted the party’s war chest ahead of the crucial May elections.

The £3 million donation from Brexit-funding cryptocurrency investor Christopher Harborne tops the record £9 million he gave to Mr Farage’s party last year. It received donations totaling £5.5 million in the last quarter of 2025, according to figures released by the Electoral Commission; This is more than any other party.

A government plan to offer families of people unable to claim asylum up to £40,000 to leave the UK would not be a “pull factor”, the Home Office has insisted.

Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood said a small number of asylum seekers would be offered “increased incentive payments” of up to £10,000 per person and £40,000 per family to leave the UK.

The plan is expected to affect around 150 families living in taxpayer-funded housing. Ms Mahmood confirmed that anyone who rejects the offer will be forcibly removed.

The pilot scheme, announced on Thursday, drew backlash from the Conservatives and Reform Parties, who said it would encourage illegal immigration.

Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp said: “This is an insult to British taxpayers. Shabana Mahmood has to resort to paying illegal immigrants to leave because she has utterly failed to force them away.”

Reform’s home affairs spokesman, Zia Yusuf, pointed out that £40,000 was “more than the average salary in the UK”. He said it was “a disgrace” to offer it “as a reward for illegal trespassing”.

This was despite Reform having previously said illegal immigrants would be offered “financial incentives to self-deport” within a six-month period if they were in government.