Britain is preparing for a mass evacuation of tourists and expats stranded in the Gulf due to the present conflict in the area via Saudi Arabia, a Daily Mail report said.
The move came as UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer agreed to a US request to use British military bases to hit Iranian missile sites.The Prime Minister said: "Our partners in the Gulf have asked us to do more to defend them, and it's my duty to protect British lives. This is in line with international law and we are publishing a summary of our legal advice."Iran has hit many Gulf states with missiles and drones following the US and Israeli attacks on Iran. Many Gulf states have fully or partially closed their airspace leading to cancellation of flights. Nearly 6,000 flights have been cancelled globally and almost 30,000 delayed since the conflict broke out, according to flight-tracking website Flightradar24.The report said officials are planning to evacuate hundreds of thousands of Britons. With 94,000 already registering with the Foreign Office, hundreds of thousands are expected to follow suit, and ministers are understood to be drawing up contingency plans to evacuate them over land to Saudi Arabia from the UAE, Bahrain, Kuwait and Qatar, the report said.
The UK government has advised people in the region to stay put. Evacuation plans will be implemented only if it becomes clear that the airspace will remain closed for a prolonged period, the report said.