Stark warning issued to Britain as Iran launches attack on Israel: 'We should be incredibly concerned'

The IDF has said it is "identifying and intercepting launches", with civilians being told to "hide in bomb shelters" for their safety.

Speaking to GB News, Shadow Foreign Office Minister Alicia Kearns called for Starmer to "hold an emergency Cobra meeting" and for Britons living in Israel to "get out now".

Reacting to the attack in Israel, Kearns explained: "Our first priority should be helping to protect Israel, making sure that none of those missiles land. We hear already that some have been intercepted over Jerusalem, and that is good news.

"This is something I've been warning of for a long time. There has been a risk that what is playing out in the Middle East would affect us, and we should be deeply concerned."

When asked by host Christopher Hope what the Labour government should be doing following the attack, Kearns claimed that Starmer should have "been briefed by intelligence this afternoon" and should be "holding emergency Cobra meetings" this evening to devise a plan.

Kearns said: "He should be holding the emergency Cobra meeting this evening, it is now that important. I'm hoping that potentially he was having intelligence briefings all this afternoon, but we'll have to wait and see.

"The priority is stopping missiles landing in Israel, getting our people to safety and making sure that in the UK we are protected on our shores"

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Issuing a stark warning to the Britons who are currently in Israel, Kearns called for them to attempt to leave the country "as soon as possible".

She stated: "Get out now, get out. We have been asking you to get out for months and months. There is a flight tomorrow, be on that flight, or get on commercial flights."

Delivering her verdict on the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, Kearns admitted that the war sparked by the October 7 attacks is "the worst she has seen" in her time in office.

Kearns added: "We'll have to wait and see how the next 12 hours plays out, but it's risky. If I'm honest, this is probably the worst it's been in my entire time working on this, which is just over a decade.

"Iran likes to claim that they are not causing warfare within their region, they like to claim they solely work from a defence posture, but this is a retaliation for the murder of Hassan Nasrallah."

Noting the speed of which Iran has retaliated against Israel, Kearns claimed that they have given Britain "less notice" than the attacks carried out in April.

Kearns told GB News: "What's interesting here is how quickly they've responded compared to April, and they've given us less notice than we had last time.

"I'm afraid there is a real risk of the threat reaching the UK. And the risk is because Hezbollah has purposely come out over the last 24 hours and said, we are now going to move beyond our region and we will ignite attacks on those who are friends of Israel. That is us. It is a direct threat to us."