Healey met Vasilis Palmas to discuss how UK was reinforcing air defences to support "our shared security," the PM's spokesman said. Cyprus's High Commissioner to the UK Dr Kyriacos Kouros told the BBC people had been "disappointed" with the information shared after the base was hit on Sunday night. Downing Street rejected suggestions the government failed to have enough military assets in the Middle East after the base was hit. The attacks on Cyprus came days after the US-Israel strikes on Iran on Saturday and retaliatory strikes by Iran.

UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer is due to give an update on the situation shortly. The British warship HMS Dragon - which has air defence capabilities - is being sent to Cyprus but will not sail until next week. Asked on Thursday if the UK was not fully prepared with the ship not yet in the Mediterranean, the prime minister's spokesman said: "I don't accept that. I think the fact is, operational questions, operational decision-making is always kept under review."  The spokesman was asked about reports that the decision to send reinforcements to the region came weeks after the first US request to use UK bases for strikes against Iran. "I think we set out yesterday that our defensive capabilities have been deployed since January," he said. "That includes air defence, radar systems and F-35 jets in Cyprus and Typhoons in Qatar." Healey's visit to Cyprus on Thursday comes as the UK government warned the situation in the Middle East could last for months. Minister Hamish Falconer told the Commons: "There are indications this is a crisis not of days but of weeks and possibly months" as he called on Iran to end the "reckless" strikes. Responding, Shadow Foreign Secretary Priti Patel said: "Britain cannot sit on the fence and our adversaries must know that we must not stand back when our allies are under such attack." Earlier, Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "Sometimes the best way to de-escalate a situation is to try and finish it quickly, rather than let it drag out because you don't want to get involved."  "Once our bases had been attacked, I think we became part of this, whether we liked it or not." (BBC)