British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has visited a controversial British airbase in Cyprus from which the Royal Air Force (RAF) flies spy planes over Gaza, telling British troops there that the “whole world” relies on them.

Starmer’s visit marks the first time a British prime minister has visited Cyprus in 53 years in an official capacity, and is considered important because the UK is a guarantor power for the island, which is divided between the Republic of Cyprus and the self-proclaimed Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC).

He visited RAF Akrotiri, one of two British bases on Cyprus, on Tuesday.

Starmer was filmed telling troops: “The whole world and everyone back at home is relying on you.”

He added: “Quite a bit of what goes on here can’t necessarily be talked about all of the time. We can’t necessarily tell the world what you’re doing.”

Since early December 2023, the RAF has flown at least 450 flights over Gaza using Shadow R1 aircraft deployed at RAF Akrotiri.

Britain’s defence ministry told Middle East Eye the flights gather intelligence, saying that information “relating to hostage rescue is passed to the Israeli authorities”.

‘The whole world and everyone back home is relying on you’

 – British PM Keir Starmer 

In October, the RAF said it would consider sharing potential war crimes evidence gathered by the spy planes with the International Criminal Court (ICC) if asked.

But the surveillance flights have been a contentious issue in Britain.

Last month in an interview with MEE, independent MP Ayoub Khan urged the government to stop sharing intelligence from the flights over Gaza, after international arrest warrants were issued for Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, and his former defence minister, Yoav Gallant.

“We cannot assist a nation that has its leadership wanted by an international tribunal,” he said. 

Starmer met with Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides in the capital, Nicosia, on Tuesday. They discussed multiple issues, including “fostering conditions of stability and security in the region”.

Spy planes controversy

This comes after international concerns were raised over the RAF base earlier this year by the president of Northern Cyprus, Ersin Tatar.

The island of Cyprus was divided 50 years ago following Turkey’s seizure of the north after moves to unite the island with Greece.

Turkey remains the only country to recognise Northern Cyprus, which demands a two-state solution to the dispute.

Tatar said in August: “When the UK withdrew from Cyprus, it took two sovereign bases through agreements.

“Because these bases have ‘sovereign’ status, no one can interfere. If British planes taking off from these bases get involved in certain issues, this could make Cyprus a target,” he said.

This was a response to Lebanon’s Hezbollah warning Cyprus against allowing Israel to use its military infrastructure for drills.

The republic’s government denied at the time that its country allowed Israel to use its airports and bases for military exercises.

Earlier, in June, Turkey’s Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said Ankara had received intelligence reports that indicated Cyprus had become a military base for operations in Gaza. 

“We constantly see in intelligence that the Greek Cypriot Administration of Southern Cyprus is a base for certain countries in operations targeting Gaza,” he said.

Tatar requested over the weekend to meet Starmer, but the British government – which does not recognise the TRNC – declined.

Middle East Eye has contacted both Northern Cyrpus’s foreign affairs ministry and the British foreign office for comment.