NewsBeat
Starmer to send British fighter jets to Middle East as fighting spreads across region
Sir Keir Starmer has pledged to send more British fighter jets to the Middle East in a bid to bolster the UK’s military presence in the region as the conflict continues to escalate.
Speaking at a Downing Street press conference on Thursday, the prime minister rejected criticism from opponents and allies that Britain had not acted fast enough when fighting began, and said he “stands by” his decision not to join the initial strikes on Tehran over the weekend.
Announcing the extra military assets being sent to the region, Sir Keir said: “I can announce today that we’re sending four additional Typhoon jets to join our squadron in Qatar to strengthen our defensive operations in Qatar and across the region.”
Two Wildcat helicopters armed with drone-busting missiles will arrive in Cyprus on Friday, as the warship HMS Dragon is unlikely to arrive in the Mediterranean until next week.
The move comes on the sixth day of a conflict between Iran and the US, which has dragged in countries across the Middle East and beyond.
Britain did not join the initial strikes on Iran, but has since allowed US forces to use British bases to strike in a defensive capacity.
Sir Keir called for de-escalation on Thursday, as he reiterated the need for a negotiated settlement with Iran over their nuclear ambitions.
It comes as Britain has been facing criticism for failing to have enough military assets in the Middle East after RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus was hit by a drone over the weekend.
The prime minister has faced harsh words from the US president, who said he is “no Winston Churchill”, while Cyprus’s high commissioner to the UK said a British military presence to defend the island was “the least we expect”, in a criticism of the UK’s approach to managing the war.
But Sir Keir rejected such criticism, insisting the UK had been preparing for the possibility of conflict “long before” Israeli and US strikes began, by deploying “additional military capabilities to the region to defend our interests”.
He also said the special relationship between the US and the UK had not been fractured by the disagreement, telling reporters: “Look, the special relationship is in operation right now.
“We’re working with the Americans in the deployment from our bases. We are working together in the region, the US and the British, working together to protect both the US and the British in joint bases where we’re jointly located, and we’re sharing intelligence on 24/7 basis in the usual way.
“That is the special relationship. That is a special relationship in operation, and clearly, it’s for the president to take decisions that he considers in the national interest the right decisions for the US.”
Sir Keir said he had not spoken to Mr Trump since Saturday evening, but added: “We’re sharing intelligence on 24/7 basis in the usual way. That is the special relationship.”
Speaking at a press conference on Thursday, Sir Keir also announced that the first government-chartered flight from Oman to Britain had finally taken off, after it was delayed from doing so overnight.
He said more than 4,000 people have now arrived back in the United Kingdom on commercial flights from the UAE, and that a further seven flights are due to leave the UAE for the UK on Thursday.
Sir Keir revealed he had chaired a Cobra meeting on Thursday, and acknowledged that people across the UK are “worried sick about their family and friends who are caught up in this”.
He added: “I want to reassure the British public about the action that we are taking while the region has been plunged into chaos.
“My focus is providing calm, level-headed leadership in the national interest.”