Cabinet Minister Mistakenly States Cyprus Is In Nato
David Lammy has mistakenly claimed Cyprus is a member of the Nato defence alliance, even though it’s not. The country has been in the spotlight ever since Iranian forces sent two drones to the UK’s RAF Akrotiri base in Cyprus last Sunday. There were no casualties and the strike caused limited damage. But the government is still sending additional staff to deal with air defences to the region, including over the island, in case Iran strikes again. Speaking to BBC Breakfast on Friday, the deputy prime minister was explaining why it was so important that the UK defends the base when he misspoke. He said: “We will do everything we can to protect our airbase, to protect our staff and people, but also to support – alongside our allies, I should say, because Cyprus is part of Nato – the French, the Germans and others have also sent frigates to the base.” There are 32 countries in the defence alliance, including many European states near Cyprus like Greece. But Cyprus is one of the four …




