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Sir Keir Starmer has warned that the Middle East is on the brink of all out war ahead of his United Nations debut as prime minister on Wednesday.
It comes as Israel and Hezbollah exchange fire across the Lebanon border, with the UK sending around 700 troops to Cyprus in case an emergency evacuation is required.
Asked on Wednesday morning whether he thinks the Middle East is on the brink of all out war, Sir Keir told the BBC: “I am deeply concerned about it and I have myself put it in those terms, that we are essentially at a brink point and we have to come back from the brink.”
He will use his speech at the UN General Assembly, the annual gathering of world leaders, to set out how the UK will step up to play its part in a world increasingly dominated by conflict.
Speaking in New York, the prime minister will promise to deliver “responsible global leadership” amid conflict in the Middle East and Ukraine.
Britons have been urged to leave Lebanon but with airlines suspending flights to the country because of the escalating violence, commercial escape routes could be cut off as the situation deteriorates.
The deployment to Cyprus comes as the government begins the first stage of its contingency plan, with the military team supported by Border Force and Foreign Office officials.
Defence Secretary John Healey announced the movement of troops on Tuesday night following a Cobra meeting earlier in the day.
The gathering will also see Ukraine push for authorisation to use UK and US-supplied missiles to strike at targets within Russia.
US president Joe Biden has so far resisted calls for the missiles to be targeted at airbases and other facilities in Russia, despite Volodymyr Zelensky using the New York summit to lobby world leaders.
There would need to be a shift in the US position for Mr Zelensky to secure a breakthrough on the issue.
Sir Keir’s visit to the United States comes less than six weeks before the country’s presidential election, but it is not clear whether he will meet candidates Donald Trump or Kamala Harris while he is in New York.
In his speech, due to take place on Thursday, he will say: “We are returning the UK to responsible global leadership.
“This is the moment to reassert fundamental principles and our willingness to defend them. To recommit to the UN, to internationalism, to the rule of law.
“Because I know that this matters to the British people. War, poverty and climate change all rebound on us at home. They make us less secure, they harm our economy, and they create migration flows on an unprecedented scale.
“The British people are safer and more prosperous when we work internationally to solve these problems, instead of merely trying to manage their effects.
“So, the responsible global leadership that we will pursue is undeniably in our self-interest.”
