Starmer to send British fighter jets to Middle East as fighting spreads across region
Sir Keir Starmer has vowed to send more British fighter jets to the Middle East to bolster the UK’s military presence in the region as conflict continues to escalate.
Speaking at a Downing Street press conference on Thursday, the prime minister rejected criticism from opponents and allies that Britain did not act quickly enough when the war began and said he “stands by” the decision not to take part in the first attacks on Tehran at the weekend.
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.”
Two Wildcat helicopters armed with drone-destroying missiles will arrive in Cyprus on Friday, as the warship HMS Dragon is unlikely to arrive in the Mediterranean until next week.
The move came on the sixth day of the conflict between Iran and the United States, which has gripped countries in the Middle East and beyond.
Britain did not participate in the initial attacks on Iran, but has since allowed US forces to use British bases to launch defensive attacks.
Sir Keir on Thursday called for de-escalation, reiterating the need to reach a negotiated agreement on Iran’s nuclear ambitions.
It comes as Britain faces criticism for not having an adequate military presence in the Middle East after RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus was hit by a drone at the weekend.
The prime minister faced harsh words from the US president, who said he was “no Winston Churchill”, while the UK high commissioner to Cyprus criticized the UK’s approach to managing the war, saying a British military presence to defend the island was “the least we could have expected”.
But Sir Keir dismissed such criticism, arguing that Britain had prepared for the possibility of conflict “well before” Israeli and US attacks began by “deploying additional military capabilities to the region to defend our interests”.
He also stated that the special relationship between the USA and the UK has not been damaged due to the dispute, and told reporters: “Look, the special relationship is currently in force.
“We work together with the Americans in the deployment from our bases. We work together with the US and the British in the region, we work together to protect both the US and the British in the joint bases we are affiliated with, and as always, we share intelligence 24/7.
“This is a special relationship. This is a special relationship in place, and clearly it is the president’s job to make the right decisions for the United States, the decisions that he thinks are in the national interest.”
Sir Keir said he had not spoken to Mr Trump since Saturday evening but added: “As always, we share intelligence 24/7. It’s a special relationship.”
Speaking at a press conference on Thursday, Sir Keir announced that the first government-chartered flight from Oman to Britain had finally taken off after being delayed overnight.
He said more than 4,000 people are currently returning to the UK on commercial flights from the UAE and a further seven flights will depart from the UAE to the UK on Thursday.
Sir Keir revealed he was chairing a Cobra meeting on Thursday and acknowledged that people in the UK were “concerned for their family and friends who are involved in this”.
He added: “As the region descends into chaos, I want to reassure the British public of the action we are taking.
“My focus is to provide calm and collected leadership in the national interest.”
