Sir Keir Starmer informed reporters on Thursday protecting measures on the airbase have all the time been in place.
“We pre-deployed further assets to Cyprus in January and February for that purpose and we’re bolstering that,” he mentioned.
“I want to be really clear to everybody in Cyprus that we are taking every measure that is needed to protect them, to protect the airbase along with the other places in the region.”
The British warship HMS Dragon – which has air defence capabilities – is being despatched to Cyprus however is not going to sail till subsequent week.
Asked on Thursday if the UK was not absolutely ready with the ship not but within the Mediterranean, the prime minister’s spokesman mentioned: “I don’t accept that. I think the fact is, operational questions, operational decision-making is always kept under review.”
The spokesman was requested about stories that the choice to ship reinforcements to the area got here weeks after the primary US request to use UK bases for strikes in opposition to Iran.
“I think we set out yesterday that our defensive capabilities have been deployed since January,” he mentioned.
“That includes air defence, radar systems and F-35 jets in Cyprus and Typhoons in Qatar.”
Healey’s go to to Cyprus on Thursday comes because the UK authorities warned the state of affairs within the Middle East might final for months.
Minister Hamish Falconer informed the Commons: “There are indications this is a crisis not of days but of weeks and possibly months” as he known as on Iran to finish the “reckless” strikes.
Responding, Shadow Foreign Secretary Priti Patel mentioned: “Britain cannot sit on the fence and our adversaries must know that we must not stand back when our allies are under such attack.”
Earlier, Conservative chief Kemi Badenoch informed BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “Sometimes the best way to de-escalate a situation is to try and finish it quickly, rather than let it drag out because you don’t want to get involved.”
“Once our bases had been attacked, I think we became part of this, whether we liked it or not.”
