RAF jets have taken out two more drones, says Healey

RAF Typhoon fighter jets have taken out two drones, one over Jordan and one heading to Bahrain, Defence Secretary John Healey has said.

He also confirmed that the warship HMS Dragon would set sail for the Eastern Mediterranean in the next couple of days.

HMS Prince of Wales, one of the UK's two aircraft carriers, is now unlikely to head to the Middle East as part of efforts to protect British interests, it is understood.

The carrier was placed on an advanced state of readiness on Saturday, meaning it could set sail within five days if ministers gave the order for it to be deployed.

This led to speculation that it could be sent to the Mediterranean to protect the British base in Cyprus from Iranian drones and missiles.

But sources now say it is likely that the carrier will instead head to the Arctic, to take part in long-planned Nato exercises there.

People inside government were clear over the weekend that no decision had been made on whether to deploy HMS Prince of Wales to the Mediterranean but did not completely shut down reports that this was becoming increasingly likely.

Those reports triggered an angry response from President Trump, who suggested he was no longer interested in receiving assistance from the UK's aircraft carrier.

He wrote on Truth Social that "we don't need them any longer" and "we don't need people that join wars after we've already won".

The UK did not allow British bases to be used in the initial US strikes on Iran but has since given permission for them to be used for defensive action against Iranian missile strikes.

The prime minister's official spokesman said: "HMS Prince of Wales has always been on very high readiness.

"The MoD [Ministry of Defence] is increasing the preparedness of the carrier, reducing the time it would take to set sail for any deployment, but there is no decision taken to deploy her."

HMS Prince of Wales had already been scheduled to go to the Arctic later this year, but it is unclear why the decision was made to place it on an advanced state of readiness.

Some in government suggested over the weekend that the decision was because of an ongoing assessment of events in the Middle East.

Sources have now said that the decision to bolster the ship's readiness was not connected to the events in Iran.

Extra fighter jets and the HMS Dragon warship are already being sent to the region following drone attacks on UK bases.

However, the UK government has been accused of not acting fast enough to protect Cyprus from enemy drones and missiles.

Last week a small drone struck the runway at RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus, causing what the MoD described as "minimal damage".

Healey said the drone came from Lebanon or Iraq and that fragments of the drone were being "analysed for foreign military hardware".

Conservative shadow defence secretary James Cartlidge questioned why the government only decided to send HMS Dragon to the region after the base had been attacked.

In response, Healey said the government had been building up a "significant military presence" in the Middle East since January.

The government has already deployed typhoons, F-35 fighter jets, air defence systems and an extra 400 personnel into Cyprus.

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