Starmer accused of 'dereliction of duty' as France first to step up to defend RAF base

KEIR Starmer has been accused of a “dereliction of duty” over defending British military bases after being beaten by France in deploying a warship to protect Cyprus from Iran.

- BY MARTYN BROWN and MICHAEL KNOWLES

The Royal Navy will send HMS Dragon to the region after an RAF base was attacked by the Islamic Republic’s drones.

President Emmanuel Macron had already ordered France’s nuclear-powered aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle and its strike group to redeploy to the Mediterranean Sea from the Baltic.

The Prime Minister is under growing pressure over his slow response to the Iran crisis and his lack of support for US air strikes, which was slammed again by Donald Trump.

The US president yesterday compared Sir Keir with Mr Macron, saying that France had offered greater backing. Mr Trump said: “He has not been helpful. I never thought I’d see that from the UK.”

An Iranian drone struck the runway at RAF Akrotiri on Sunday, although officials said it caused minimal damage. A further two drones bound for the base were intercepted on Monday as Tehran launched a series of counterattacks across the Gulf region and Middle East in response to the US-Israel air strikes.

After questions were raised about the pace of British deployment, the Prime Minister announced yesterday afternoon that Type-45 air defence destroyer HMS Dragon will protect British military in Cyprus.