So, where is the HMS Dragon three weeks after the Iranian drone strike on RAF Akrotiri? ‘On its way…’

Exactly three weeks after Iran’s drone attack on RAF Akrotiri, there was still no sign of HMS Dragon in Cyprus on Sunday.

When asked yesterday where the Type 45 Destroyer was, Labor Housing Minister Steve Reed could only say it was ‘en route to the area’.

Despite months of fighting, Sir Keir Starmer’s Government did not have a single warship in the area when it broke out on 28 February.

Iranian proxy forces launched the Shahed UAV, which hit the British Sovereignty Base Area Akrotiri in the early hours of March 2.

The Royal Navy scrambled to have HMS Dragon ready for sea within six days but has yet to reach Cyprus, relying on French, Italian and Greek ships.

Asked where he was yesterday in a BBC interview with Laura Kuenssberg on Sunday, Mr Reed said: ‘HMS Dragon will be heading for the area.

‘What happened there was that a repair that had been done in six weeks was being completed in six weeks, thanks to the amazing capacity of our navy.’

Pressed again on whether it had reached Cyprus, Mr Reed said: ‘This ship is now underway to join hundreds of additional personnel, Typhoon fighter jets, Merlin and Wildcat helicopters who were deployed in the area before the conflict began.

‘The United Kingdom was fully prepared with the resources to defend our interests should this conflict begin, and it has.’

On Sunday a Ministry of Defense spokesman refused to say where it was but said: ‘We have deployed HMS Dragon, equipped with the state-of-the-art Sea Viper missile system capable of destroying drones and missiles, to play a vital role in protecting the UK’s assets and interests in the Middle East.

This is one element of our broader approach and builds on the defense capabilities we have strengthened in the region since January, including additional Typhoons, F-35 jets, air defense systems and an extra 400 air defense personnel to Cyprus.

‘These preparations made a real difference and enabled our troops to conduct defensive operations from day one.’

Meanwhile, military sources say that Britain’s nuclear-powered submarine HMS Anson has reached the Arabian Sea.

The Astute-class ship is equipped with Tomahawk Block IV land attack missiles and torpedoes with a range of 1,000 miles.

The consequences of the attack on Akrotiri and Britain’s slow response caused anger in Cyprus. Last week President Nikos Christodoulides said: ‘We will have an open and frank discussion with the British government when the situation in the Middle East is over.’