Britain preparing to send evacuation ship to Middle East

Britain is preparing to send an evacuation ship to the Middle East for a potential civilian rescue mission, citing The Telegraph.

The RFA Lyme Bay, a landing ship of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary, the civilian support wing of the Navy, has been placed on “heightened readiness” to sail from Gibraltar to the Eastern Mediterranean.

It is equipped to function as an aviation platform and has medical facilities, making her “well-suited for humanitarian and disaster relief missions”, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) said.

A spokesman for the MoD said today: “As part of prudent planning, we have taken the decision to bring RFA Lyme Bay to heightened readiness as a precaution, should she be needed to assist in maritime tasks in the Eastern Mediterranean.”

The UK has already announced plans to deploy HMS Dragon, a Type 45 destroyer, which is expected to leave this week for the Mediterranean.

Britain’s military response has come under heavy criticism and has been dwarfed by a large French naval deployment announced by Emmanuel Macron on Monday.