Forty Britons airlifted from Lebanon as Royal Navy flotilla assembles for 'largest evacuation since Dunkirk'

Forty Britons have been airlifted out of the Lebanese capital Beirut to Cyprus, the Foreign Office said, using helicopters which were used to ferry diplomats and crisis negotiators in. A defence ministry spokeswoman said 3,500 to 4,000 British families comprising 12,000 people and a further 10,000 dual nationals were registered in Lebanon. Many have family ties to the region and it is not known how many wish to leave.

The biggest British evacuation 'since Dunkirk' was being organised on Monday with a flotilla of Royal Navy ships assembling near the war zone to rescue more than 20,000 people from the country's beaches. High priority cases, including a heavily-pregnant woman, have already been airlifted to Cyprus by RAF helicopter.

Two Navy destroyers, York and Gloucester, arrived off Lebanon yesterday and four other warships are expected by Thursday. They will use their helicopters and landing craft to take thousands of Britons off the beaches, once Royal Marine commandos establish a secure landing zone.

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