The Prime Minister warned the conflict in the Middle East could continue ‘for some time’ – as he scrambled four more Typhoon jets to Qatar to bolster defences of the Gulf states
Keir Starmer has vowed to shield Brits and the UK’s allies in the Middle East from Iran’s onslaught of missiles and drones.
The Prime Minister warned the war could continue “for some time” as he scrambled four more Typhoon jets to Qatar to bolster defences of the Gulf states. Two Wildcat helicopters armed with drone-busting missiles will arrive also arrive in Cyprus on Friday with the HMS Dragon warship also being deployed to the Mediterranean.
Mr Starmer said this would help “take out Iranian missiles before they are fired at our people and our allies” with the conflict plunging the region into chaos. He said: “We will maintain this shield over British people in the region and our allies. We are working to strengthen it every day.”
Addressing the nation from a No9 Downing Street press conference, he said he wanted to reassure people who “are worried sick” about family and friends caught up in the conflict. He added: “As a nation, we should come together in this moment… we are united by our common humanity – and our love of this country. This conflict could continue for some time.
“So I want you to know that your government is resolute in our response – at home and abroad. We will do everything we can to protect British lives, uphold British values and safeguard the national interest.”
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And he confirmed the first government evacuation flight had left Muscat, Oman, after take-off was cancelled on Wednesday evening due to a technical issue. After chairing an emergency Cobra meet, Mr Starmer said at 2.11pm the plane carrying around 180 British nationals left “a few minutes ago”.
One passenger, who gave his name as Mark, said the planned route appeared to be from Muscat to London Stansted, with a refuelling stop in Cairo, Egypt. He told the BBC the situation on Wednesday night was a “complete shambles” involving “loads of issues with check-in” and “no communication from the craft or the crew” while being stuck on a transfer bus.
British Airways said it will run a fourth daily flight from Muscat to London Heathrow – a route it does not usually serve – departing at 10.30pm GMT on Saturday. It said in a statement: “We remain unable to operate flights from Abu Dhabi, Amman, Bahrain, Doha, Dubai and Tel Aviv.”
Mr Starmer said: “We will lay on additional charter flights in the coming days. British Airways is putting on daily flights from Oman, and we will keep working with all of our partners to increase the speed and capacity of this airlift. I want to be very clear, this is a huge undertaking. It’s one of the biggest operations of its kind, many times bigger than the evacuation from Afghanistan. It’s not going to happen overnight, but we will not stop until our people are safe.”
More than 140,000 Britons have registered their presence in the Middle East with the Foreign Office, which set up a crisis-centre at the weekend when the conflict broke out.
The PM also insisted he stood by his initial decision not to join US-Israeli strikes on Tehran at the weekend – which led to the death of Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. He has since given permission for America to use British military bases for “defensive” strikes to protect countries being targeted by Tehran.
The initial decision not to grant the approval has led to bitter personal attacks on the PM by Donald Trump in recent days. Speaking at the Oval Office earlier this week, the US President said of Mr Starmer: “This is not Winston Churchill that we’re dealing with.”
But the PM insisted the UK-US special relationship was alive and “in operation right now” – despite having not spoken to Mr Trump directly since Saturday evening. He said: “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 a 24/7 basis in the usual way.”
He added: “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. I understand that, I respect that, but equally, it’s for me as the British Prime Minister to take decisions that I consider to be in the best interest of the United Kingdom. There’s nothing controversial about that. The special relationship is operating right here at an important point.”