War in Middle East cannot be allowed to become a windfall for Putin - Starmer
BBC
The prime minister gives an update on the UK's activities in the Middle East, saying over 92,000 British nationals have returned to the country on commercial and government charter flight.
Work is continuing to support British citizens in Lebanon, Starmer says.
The UK has "thousands of service men and women in Cyprus", three squadrons of fighter jets and counter-drone teams to help intercept Iranian attacks, he adds.
Turning to UK diplomatic efforts, Starmer says Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper has been in the region in recent days. Starmer says he has met Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney earlier this morning and will be meeting President Volodymyr Zelensky soon.
"It's vital that we continue to focus on supporting Ukraine," he says, adding that the war in the Middle East cannot be allowed to become "a windfall for Putin".
Some other key points
BBC
The prime minister gives an update on the UK's activities in the Middle East, saying over 92,000 British nationals have returned to the country on commercial and government charter flight.
Work is continuing to support British citizens in Lebanon, Starmer says.
The UK has "thousands of service men and women in Cyprus", three squadrons of fighter jets and counter-drone teams to help intercept Iranian attacks, he adds.
Turning to UK diplomatic efforts, Starmer says Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper has been in the region in recent days. Starmer says he has met Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney earlier this morning and will be meeting President Volodymyr Zelensky soon.
"It's vital that we continue to focus on supporting Ukraine," he says, adding that the war in the Middle East cannot be allowed to become "a windfall for Putin".
Some other key points
- Starmer says the UK is working with allies on a viable plan to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, but says it will not be a Nato mission
- On the US-Israel war with Iran, Starmer says his first priority is to protect "our people in the region"
- The prime minister outlined outlined to tackle the cost of living including capping energy bill to the end of June, extending a fuel duty cap until September, and a £53m package people exposed to rising heating oil prices
- He adds that the best way to combat the cost of living is to de-escalate the conflict
