A British military base in Cyprus was hit by an unmanned drone strike overnight on Sunday, the foreign secretary has confirmed, saying that “precautionary measures” are being taken in the wake of the attack.
It is understood that there were no casualties in the strike, which hit the airport runway at RAF Akrotiri in the early hours of Monday morning, but that “minor damage” had been caused.
In the wake of the strike, Yvette Cooper told Sky News: “This is an unmanned drone strike, specifically on the airport runway and we’re not able to provide further information and detail at this point.
“But obviously all of the precautionary measures are being taken around the base.”
She also said the UK was working on “every possible option” to protect Britons trapped in the Gulf, including a mass evacuation, as well as saying the government is allowing the US to use bases to attack missile sites for “defence” reasons.
Ms Cooper said: “We are setting up the support systems because as well as the 94,000 people who have been in touch when we set up the ‘register your presence’ system, there’s an estimated 300,000 British citizens in Gulf countries that have now been targeted by Iran, including countries where now airspace is closed as a result of those attacks.
“That is, of course, extremely stressful for people who include holidaymakers and transit passengers at airports, people who have gone there for business trips, as well as those who live in the region as well.
“So we’re saying to people, the most important thing at the moment is to follow the local advice, which in most places is around sheltering in place, and we are sending out rapid deployment teams to the region to work with the travel industry, to work with local governments as well, to make sure that citizens can get support.
“Of course, we want people to get safely home as swiftly as possible.”
Asked if evacuation plans were being drawn up she said: “We are working on every possible option.”
In a statement overnight on Sunday, a spokesperson for the Ministry of Defence said: “Our Armed Forces are responding to a suspected drone strike at RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus at midnight local time.
“Our force protection in the region is at the highest level and the base has responded to defend our people.”
British bases in the region declared a “security threat” shortly before midnight local time, with personnel ordered to return to their homes and stay inside “until further notice,” sources told Cyprus Mail.
They were also told to “move away from windows and take cover behind or beneath substantial, solid furniture,” and to wait for further instruction.
It comes just hours after Sir Keir Starmer announced that, in a dramatic U-turn, he had granted permission for US forces to use UK bases as the conflict continues to escalate following strikes carried out by America and Israel on Saturday.
“The US has requested permission to use British bases for that specific and limited defensive purpose,” Starmer said in a video message to the nation on Sunday evening.
“We have taken the decision to accept this request to prevent Iran firing missiles across the region, killing innocent civilians, putting British lives at risk and hitting countries that have not been involved.”
Explaining that the government will allow the US to use UK bases to attack Iranian missile sites for “defence” reasons, Ms Cooper said: “It’s a specific, limited agreement about the defence of Gulf countries, and many of those Gulf countries were not involved in any of the strikes on Iran.
“And so, for example, it doesn’t mean political and economic and infrastructure targets, but there is a significant issue about ballistic missiles and launchers that are effectively pointed at the Gulf, pointed at our partner countries and countries where we have so many British citizens.
“So to not provide support that the US have specifically asked for, for that defensive operation, I think would not be the right thing to do just when we have so many British citizens there.”
The prime minister has been hit on both sides over his response, first by Tories and Reform for initially refusing to allow the use of the RAF, and now by Greens for caving in to Donald Trump.
Green party leader Zack Polanski told The Independent: “It took just one phone call from Donald Trump for Starmer to jump into yet another Middle East illegal war, failing to learn the lessons of the tragedies of Iraq, Libya and Syria.”
Reform UK leader Nigel Farage told The Independent: “Better late than never. We have a follower, not a leader.”
Starmer’s change of heart is likely to fuel concerns that the UK is also being dragged into another war in the Middle East. On Saturday, Sir Keir revealed that Iran had planned 20 atrocities in the UK just in the last year.
