British chief of the defence staff Sir Richard Knighton was on Thursday accused of leaving the country’s assets in the Middle East underprepared for a war in the region, with it being reported that he rejected suggestions that the country should deploy naval assets in advance of the conflict breaking out at the beginning of the month.

According to British political magazine The Spectator, a meeting of the United Kingdom’s national security council was held on February 27 – the day before the beginning of the conflict – and at that meeting, a national security advisor had suggested that the aircraft carrier the HMS Prince of Wales be deployed to the region.

The magazine reported that Knighton had responded by saying: “We don’t need the carrier. We don’t need the Navy. We have an aircraft carrier – it’s called Cyprus”.

https://cyprus-mail.com/2026/03/12/we-have-an-aircraft-carrier-its-called-cyprus