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John Healey, UK defence secretary, has flown to Cyprus to try to quell local anger after criticism that Britain has not done enough to protect the Mediterranean island, home to two UK military bases, during the Iran conflict.
The RAF base at Akrotiri, which is sovereign British territory, was hit by a drone on Sunday, while further attacks were intercepted on Monday, raising concerns that Cyprus is being dragged into the conflict.
Kyriacos Kouros, the Cypriot high commissioner to the UK, said local people were disappointed with the British response, noting that other European allies were coming to the country’s aid.
“Already we have the presence of Greek forces on the island,” he told Sky News. “Two frigates arrived, four aircraft arrived, all of them with abilities to combat drones.”
“The French are coming,” he added, referring to the deployment of the French carrier Charles de Gaulle to the Mediterranean. “The least we expect is the Britons to also be present since, as I said, we are not only defending Cypriots on the island.”
The French embassy in the UK posted on X an image of the Charles de Gaulle captioned “Heading to the Mediterranean”, and the carrier is being accompanied by a frigate. The UK’s response so far has appeared less muscular.
Italy’s defence minister Guido Crosetto said Rome, alongside other European partners, plans to send naval units to support Cyprus.
“Together with countries such as Spain, the Netherlands and France, in the coming days, we will send naval units for the protection of Cyprus,” Crosetto told the Italian parliament on Thursday.
Britain is sending the Type 45 destroyer HMS Dragon to the Mediterranean © Justin Tallis/AFP/Getty Images
Britain is sending the Type 45 anti-missile destroyer to the Mediterranean but the ship is currently in Portsmouth and not expected to set sail until next week. It will not arrive until the week after.
The UK Ministry of Defence has also said it is dispatching “two Wildcat helicopters to Cyprus to bolster drone defence for our Cypriot partners”.
But in a sign of the disquiet in Cyprus, Healey flew to the island for talks on Thursday to provide reassurance in person that Britain would ensure its security.
UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer wrote on X: “The UK is fully committed to the security of Cyprus and British military personnel based there.”
The PM said the drone attack against Akrotiri was launched before the UK announced on Sunday evening that it would allow the US to use two of its bases for defensive action against Iran.
Starmer has also confirmed that no RAF bases in Cyprus are being used by US bombers. He has given permission for the US to launch strikes on Iranian missile sites from UK facilities at Fairford in Gloucestershire and Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean.
The prime minister spoke to Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides this week after Cyprus had expressed unhappiness about the UK failing to initially clarify that RAF Akrotiri would not be used in strikes by the US against Iran.
A drone hit the runway at the British military base on the southern coast of Cyprus on Sunday night.
Shortly after the strike, a Cypriot government spokesman expressed his “dissatisfaction” that “there was no clear clarification that the British bases in Cyprus would under no circumstances be used for any purpose other than humanitarian reasons”.
British and Cypriot officials told the FT they suspected that the small Shahed-style drone had been launched by Hizbollah in Lebanon rather than by Iran, but the UK’s Ministry of Defence has not officially confirmed its assessment. Families have since been moved off the site as a precaution.
Kemi Badenoch, the Conservative leader, on Thursday repeated calls for Britain to join US and Israeli strikes on missile sites in Iran.
“I’m absolutely not gung-ho, but we are already dragged into this. Our bases are being attacked,” she told the BBC Today programme.
“I want to make sure we take out the archer. If all we’re doing is trying to catch arrows, we are going to get hit.”
