UK PM Starmer to address press conference on Middle East conflict at 1400 GMT

LONDON, March 5 (Reuters) - British Prime Minister Keir Starmer will address a press conference on Thursday afternoon to give an update on the escalating conflict in the Middle East, his spokesman said.

Starmer will speak to journalists at 1400 GMT in London, his spokesman said.

Britain, which was not part of the assault on Iran that began at the weekend, has announced it will start moving military resources to the region after an attack on one of its bases in Cyprus.

Starmer's government said this week it would deploy a warship, as well as helicopters with counter-drone capabilities to help blunt Iran's retaliatory strikes.

As the U.S.–Iran war entered its sixth day, the conflict has widened beyond Gulf states and into Asia, prompting thousands of stranded tourists and residents to try to flee the Middle East.

(Reporting by Andrew MacAskill, editing by William James)