The British Prime Minister, Kire Starmer, is travelling today to the Netherlands, where the NATO summit will take place in The Hague. As analysts in London note, the key issue at the summit is not the war in Ukraine or the protracted crisis in the Middle East, but increasing the share of defense spending by member states from the current 2% to 5% of their GDP by the next decade.

Starmer was one of the first to say that the UK will increase its defence and security spending to that figure by 2035 to respond, as he put it, “at a time of radical uncertainty.”

According to a spokesman for Downing Street, the British prime minister is certain to push for a diplomatic solution to the Middle East crisis in every direction at the NATO summit today and tomorrow.

At the very least, the EU will make every effort to make the most of the diplomatic situation in the Middle East in the coming days.

Meanwhile, government sources note that despite the ceasefire agreement and the truce between Iran and Israel, the British government is still alert and considering all scenarios for the next period of time. In this context, it will continue to assist those Britons who want to leave the region, government officials note.

So yesterday saw the first RAF flight from Israel, which removed a total of 63 Britons and their close relatives belonging to vulnerable groups. The military aircraft landed in Cyprus and from there its passengers, on another charter flight, arrived in the United Kingdom.

According to British Foreign Secretary, David Lammy, more such humanitarian flights will take place in the coming days, as there are currently more than 1,000 Britons who have asked to leave Israel, and an estimated 4,000 British nationals living in the country.

This is an “ongoing and rapidly evolving situation”, the Foreign Secretary told the House of Commons. That is why a special page has been set up on the British government’s official website (Register Your Presence) with instructions.

A new YouGov poll has shown that almost half of Britons (48%) do not agree with US B-2 bomber strikes against Iran, compared to 22% who support them.

In the House of Commons yesterday, the Foreign Secretary repeatedly refused to answer the question of whether he believed the US acted within international law.

Analysts point out that while yes, London does not want a nuclear-armed Iran, it is also not saying clearly whether it supports Washington’s military operations, without condemning them, as that would put it at odds with a historically traditional ally.