UK sending more fighter jets to the Middle East, says Starmer

The UK is to send more military hardware to the Middle East as the Iran war continues to escalate, Sir Keir Starmer has announced.

Giving an update on the UK's involvement in the conflict, which began when the US and Israel attacked Iran on Saturday, the prime minister said four extra fighter jets were being sent to the region.

"We are responding to requests from allies in the region for further help," 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."

And two Wildcat helicopters equipped with anti-drone weapons are due to arrive in Cyprus on Friday - where an RAF base has already been hit by an Iran, the PM added.

Sir Keir also said the first evacuation charter flight from Oman to the UK, which was meant to depart on Wednesday, left at about 2pm GMT on Thursday.

More than 140,000 British citizens have registered their presence in the Middle East, with rapid deployment teams from the Foreign Office in Oman and Saudi Arabia. And more than 4,000 people have arrived back in the UK on commercial flights from the UAE.

A further seven flights were due to leave on Thursday, the PM said.

UK citizen safety priority

Sir Keir told Sky News' political editor Beth Rigby his "absolute priority is the safety of our citizens" and that had been the focus behind all the decisions he has made over the war.

"We are doing everything we can to de-escalate this," he said.

"I can't give you a time base for this, I don't think anybody can.

"Ultimately, this will have to be a matter of negotiation when it comes to some of the core issues, like nuclear capability."

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The UK would "stand firm" on its Iran war stance "no matter the pressure", the PM said. He has faced criticism from Donald Trump, the Conservatives and Reform UK for not allowing the US to use UK bases in the region to carry out their strikes.

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On Sunday evening, the prime minister gave permission for US forces to use RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus, RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire and the Diego Garcia base in the Chagos Islands for "defensive" strikes as Iran unleashed counterattacks across the region.

Sir Keir is standing by his decision, and said on Thursday: "While the region has been plunged into chaos, my focus is providing calm, level-headed leadership in the national interest.

"That means deploying our military and diplomatic strength to protect our people, and it means having the strength to stand firm by our values and our principles. No matter the pressure to do otherwise."

US only asked for help on Saturday afternoon

He also revealed a request to use UK bases had only come from the US on Saturday late afternoon - hours after they launched strikes on Iran in the morning.

They went through the details with the US over the next day then reached a decision on Sunday, Sir Keir said - and revealed he last spoke to Mr Trump on Saturday evening.

The PM avoided answering whether he had wanted to allow the US to use Diego Garcia but had been overruled by some of his top ministers, as has been reported.

It was a "decision of all ministers, unanimous", he said.

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