Downing Street says “no decision has been taken” to send HMS Prince of Wales to the the Mediterranean in response to the Iran conflict, despite two days’ worth of headlines claiming the vessel had been placed on advanced readiness to sail from Portsmouth. It is one of Britain’s two aircraft carriers, both of which Trump declared he ‘didn’t need’ over the weekend…
Number 10 is now pushing back on claims the ship is being deployed to the Middle East, insisting HMS Prince of Wales had always been on high readiness and “we have been bolstering our presence in the Middle East since January” with the likes of typhoons and F-35s. In other words: don’t expect it to sail east any time soon…
Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood introduced her speech on migration reforms at the IPPR:
“There’s no denying we meet at a difficult time for my party.”