British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer on Wednesday explained the perceived delays to his country’s deployment of the HMS Dragon Type 45 destroyer warship to Cyprus in the aftermath of the island being hit by an Iranian-made drone last week, saying that the ship was being “carefully … loaded with the anti-strike ammunition and capability that it needs”.

Taking questions in the United Kingdom’s House of Commons, he also sought to dispel reports that the delay had come about due to trade unions only allowing port workers in the port of Portsmouth to work between 9am and 5pm, saying that “navy and civilians have been working 22-hour shifts in relation to it”.

He then offered terse criticism of the country’s leader of the opposition Kemi Badenoch, who had said during an appearance on television last week that British forces in the Middle East are “just hanging around”.

“In relation to those taking action to defend us, what does she say? Just hanging about! Just hanging about! That is how she described our pilots in the region,” he said.

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He then said, “let me tell you what they have been doing”, before explaining that they have been “flying sorties in seven of the ten countries in the region day and night, taking out incoming strikes, protecting the lives of others, whilst risking their own”.

“If she had any decency, she would get up, and she would apologise,” he said.

The HMS Dragon set sail from Portsmouth on Tuesday evening, and is expected to arrive in Cyprus next week, with it being reported that the UK also plans to send the RFA Lyme Bay, a dock landing ship, to the island in the coming days.

On Monday, the UK had announced the deployment of a Merlin Mk2 helicopter and an “engineering team”, as well as “further” AW159 Wildcat helicopters, in addition to the two which arrived last week.

Additionally, last Thursday, British Defence Secretary John Healey visited the island and held a meeting with his Cypriot counterpart Vasilis Palmas, before promising that “top experts” had arrived on the island “to help coordinate the air defences”.

Starmer had also last week confirmed that Cyprus, and more specifically the UK’s Akrotiri air force base, has been used as the launchpad for missions aimed at engaging and shooting down drones fired from Iran.

Those operations are being led by F-35 fighter jets, which have been stationed in Cyprus since last month.

Despite this mobilisation, Starmer’s predecessor Rishi Sunak on Sunday accused him of lacking “strategic acumen” due to perceived delays in the deployment of British assets to the region in the aftermath of last week’s drone strike on the Akrotiri base.

However, Starmer’s predecessor Rishi Sunak on Sunday accused him of lacking “strategic acumen” due to perceived delays in the deployment of British assets to the region in the aftermath of a drone strike on Akrotiri base.

“Given how much notice we had of these strikes, why was no ship moved to the Mediterranean to help protect our interests and allies? It is frankly embarrassing that the French appear to be doing more to protect Cyprus than we are, even though Cyprus is only a target because of our sovereign bases there,” he said.

His reference to France came ahead of a visit of French President Emmanuel Macron to Cyprus on Monday, and with the French frigate Languedoc having arrived in Cyprus within 72 hours of the drone strike/

The frigate has since been joined in Cyprus’ vicinity by the aircraft carrier the Charles de Gaulle.