Landing ship RFA Lyme Bay is being prepared for a potential deployment to the region. On Monday, Defence Secretary John Healey told MPs the warship would sail from Portsmouth “in the next couple of days”. Despite asking the competition watchdog to prevent wartime profiteering, the Chancellor resisted calls to cancel a planned increase in fuel duty in response to the oil price spike. Meanwhile, Tory leader Kemi Badenoch hit back at suggestions she should apologise for claiming British forces are “just hanging around” in the Middle East. British pilots have spent more than 230 hours flying on defensive operations in the region, it added.

Source: The Times March 10, 2026 13:56 UTC