‘Leave immediately,’ Starmer tells Britons in Lebanon – as UK troops sent to Cyprus
The prime minister has told Britons in Lebanon to “leave immediately” as around 700 UK troops are deployed to Cyprus in case an emergency evacuation is needed.
Sir Keir Starmer said “we are ramping up the contingency plans… in light of the escalation”, with fears growing of all-out war between Israel and Hezbollah.
“It is important that we be really, really clear: now is the time to leave,” the PM said.
Defence Secretary John Healey – who chaired a meeting of the UK’s emergency COBRA committee earlier – also urged all Britons to leave Lebanon “now”.
Follow latest: Top Hezbollah commander ‘killed in Beirut’
Two British warships are already in the region and would be used if any evacuation operation is ordered. Royal Air Force planes and helicopters are also on standby.
A major UK military base in Cyprus – RAF Akrotiri – would be an important staging post.
The deployment of military personnel will happen in the coming hours. They will be supported by Border Force and Foreign Office officials.
The move marks a significant ramping up of UK efforts to prepare for a potential large-scale evacuation operation – a complex and dangerous move that has long been anticipated as a possibility given the volatility on the ground.
RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus would be an important staging post for an evacuation. File pic
A government statement described it as “the first phase of its contingency plans following significant escalation between Israel and Hezbollah in recent days”.
Thousands of British nationals are in Lebanon.
Sir Keir said he was “worried about the situation” in Lebanon, adding: “I think we need to be clear we need de-escalation, we need a ceasefire, we need to pull back from the brink.”
In a sign of growing concern, Mr Healey left the Labour Party conference early to chair the COBRA meeting of ministers as well as intelligence chiefs and diplomats.
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Israel vows to continue attacks on Lebanon
“Events in the past hours and days have demonstrated how volatile this situation is, which is why our message is clear, British nationals should leave now,” the defence secretary said in a statement afterwards.
“We continue to urge all sides to step back from conflict to prevent further tragic loss of life. Our government is ensuring all preparations are in place to support British nationals should the situation deteriorate. I want to thank the British personnel who are deploying in the region for their commitment and professionalism.”
HMS Duncan, a Type 45 destroyer, and RFA Mounts Bay, a Royal Fleet Auxiliary ship, are already in the eastern Mediterranean ready to mobilise.
It is not the first time this year that the military has scrambled to prepare for a potential evacuation of British nationals from Lebanon.
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Middle East: Latest from Sky News as conflict escalates
Just last month, more than 1,000 military personnel were on standby in Cyprus and the UK to mobilise as tensions soared. That level of readiness was subsequently eased but it is now being ramped back up, with the crisis far more grave.
In the past week, Israel has launched its biggest offensive against Hezbollah – which is backed by Iran – since the two sides went to war in 2006. Hezbollah’s military wing is considered a terrorist organisation by the UK government.
The operation began with the detonation of thousands of pagers and walkie-talkies used by the group – though Israel has not confirmed it was behind this covert hybrid attack.
It quickly evolved into overt warfare, with Israeli jets launching punishing waves of airstrikes. The Israel Defence Forces said they targeted Hezbollah weapons sites and killed a number of senior commanders. However hundreds of people have been killed and thousands injured, including women and children.
Tens of thousands of people have been forced to flee their homes in southern Lebanon.
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‘Lebanon will pay a big price if war escalates’
The Israeli government says the aim of its operation is to stop Hezbollah from being able to fire into northern Israel – something the militant group has done since a day after the October 7 Hamas attacks on Israel, which triggered the war in Gaza.
The Hezbollah strikes have forced tens of thousands of Israeli citizens to flee their homes in the north of Israel. The government says it wants to enable them to return home – a goal that Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of Hezbollah – has vowed to thwart.
The Israeli operation – which has dealt a punishing blow to Hezbollah – raises the possibility of Hezbollah using its arsenal of longer rage missiles to hit targets deeper inside Israeli territory – such a move would almost certainly trigger an Israeli ground attack.
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Are Rachel Reeves’s fiscal rules quite as iron clad as she insists?
How tough is her armour really? And is there actually scope for some change, some loosening to avoid big tax hikes in the autumn?
We’ve had a bit of clarity early this morning – and that’s a question we discuss on the Politics at Sam and Anne’s podcast today.
Politics Live: Reeves to reform financial regulations
And tens of billions of pounds of borrowing depends on the answer – which still feels intriguingly opaque.
You might think you know what the fiscal rules are. And you might think you know they’re not negotiable.
For instance, the main fiscal rule says that from 2029-30, the government’s day-to-day spending needs to be in surplus – i.e. rely on taxation alone, not borrowing.
And Rachel Reeves has been clear – that’s not going to change, and there’s no disputing this.
But when the government announced its fiscal rules in October, it actually published a 19-page document – a “charter” – alongside this.
And this contains all sorts of notes and caveats. And it’s slightly unclear which are subject to the “iron clad” promise – and which aren’t.
There’s one part of that document coming into focus – with sources telling me that it could get changed.
And it’s this – a little-known buffer built into the rules.
It’s outlined in paragraph 3.6 on page four of the Charter for Budget Responsibility.
This says that from spring 2027, if the OBR forecasts that she still actually has a deficit of up to 0.5% of GDP in three years, she will still be judged to be within the rules.
In other words, if in spring 2027 she’s judged to have missed her fiscal rules by perhaps as much as £15bn, that’s fine.
A change could save the chancellor some headaches. Pic: PA
Now there’s a caveat – this exemption only applies, providing at the following budget the chancellor reduces that deficit back to zero.
But still, it’s potentially helpful wiggle room.
This help – this buffer – for Reeves doesn’t apply today, or for the next couple of years – it only kicks in from the spring of 2027.
But I’m being told by a source that some of this might change and the ability to use this wiggle room could be brought forward to this year. Could she give herself a get out of jail card?
The chancellor could gamble that few people would notice this technical change, and it might avoid politically catastrophic tax hikes – but only if the markets accept it will mean higher borrowing than planned.
But the question is – has Rachel Reeves ruled this out by saying her fiscal rules are iron clad or not?
Or to put it another way… is the whole of the 19-page Charter for Budget Responsibility “iron clad” and untouchable, or just the rules themselves?
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Is Labour plotting a ‘wealth tax’?
And what counts as “rules” and are therefore untouchable, and what could fall outside and could still be changed?
I’ve been pressing the Treasury for a statement.
And this morning, they issued one.
A spokesman said: “The fiscal rules as set out in the Charter for Budget Responsibility are iron clad, and non-negotiable, as are the definition of the rules set out in the document itself.”
So that sounds clear – but what is a definition of the rule? Does it include this 0.5% of GDP buffer zone?
Read more:
Reeves hints at tax rises in autumn
Tough decisions ahead for chancellor
The Treasury does concede that not everything in the charter is untouchable – including the role and remit of the OBR, and the requirements for it to publish a specific list of fiscal metrics.
But does that include that key bit? Which bits can Reeves still tinker with?
I’m still unsure that change has been ruled out.
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