First government-chartered flight to evacuate citizens from Middle East takes off from Muscat one day late
Middle East crisis – live updates
The first charter flight taking British nationals back to the UK from the Middle East took off on Wednesday as the prime minister described the ongoing evacuation operation was one of the biggest of its kind.
Keir Starmer announced that the delayed charter flight from Oman, which was originally scheduled to leave at 7pm on Wednesday, had taken off minutes before he addressed a Downing Street press conference.
The airlift of British nationals takes place against the backdrop of continued US and Israeli strikes on Iran, with missiles and drones also raining down on other states in the region.
