UK government confirms no military support given for Israel’s attack on Iran

PM calls for de-escalation, while officials decline to confirm if UK helped defend Israel from retaliatory Iranian drones

Middle East crisis – live updates

Britain did not provide military support to Israel’s attack on Iran or help down Iranian drones, the UK government has said, as the prime minister called for all parties to urgently de-escalate after the airstrikes that were launched overnight.

The prime minister’s spokesperson said that “the UK did not participate in Israel’s strikes overnight” and indicated the RAF had not taken part in any military action to knock out Iranian drones attacking Israel in a counterattack launched by Tehran in the morning.