Britain is deploying RAF Tornado jets to provide greater surveillance of northern Iraq after being forced to abort two attempts to drop aid for Yazidi refugees on Mount Sinjar amid fears that the cargo could have injured people on the ground.
Amid growing calls for a recall of parliament to allow Britain to join the US in launching air strikes against forces from the Islamic State, Downing Street announced an intensification of British involvement with the deployment of the Tornadoes to the region.
Officials made it clear that the Tornadoes, whose actual deployment over Iraq has yet to be agreed by ministers, would be used solely for surveillance to avoid a repeat of Sunday night, when the crew of an RAF C-130 Hercules aircraft had to abort their mission to avoid injuring refugees on the ground. British crews are preparing to make a further attempt to deliver the relief.
There were reports that US air drops had mixed results after refugees reported that food packages disintegrated because they were distributed from high altitude.
Philip Hammond, the foreign secretary, who chaired a meeting of the government's emergency Cobra committee, insisted that Britain was only providing humanitarian support and would not join the US in launching military strikes against Isis forces. Downing Street indicated that Britain may be prepared to follow the example of the US in arming Kurdish forces that are fighting Isis, though the prime minister's spokeswoman said that no decision had been taken.
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