Beirut explosion: Boris Johnson confirms Brits are among those caught up in Lebanon blast

Katy Clifton5 August 2020

Boris Johnson has confirmed that Brits are among those caught up in the aftermath of a huge explosion which rocked the Lebanese capital Beirut.

The Prime Minister said the Government is "ready to provide support in any way we can, including to those British nationals affected".

Meanwhile, Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said the UK stands in solidarity with Lebanon after the explosion, which killed at least 50 people and injured thousands.

In a tweet, Mr Johnson said: “The pictures and videos from Beirut tonight are shocking. All of my thoughts and prayers are with those caught up in this terrible incident.

“The UK is ready to provide support in any way we can, including to those British nationals affected.”

Lebanon: Beirut explosion aftermath - In pictures

1/68

Videos of a huge mushroom cloud rising above the Middle Eastern city were shared extensively on social media on Tuesday evening local time.

The death toll is expected to rise as bodies buried in the rubble are recovered, officials said.

Authorities in Lebanon are yet to announce the cause of the explosion.

In a tweet, Mr Raab said: “My thoughts and prayers are with those affected by the devastating explosion in #Beirut today.

“The UK stands in solidarity with the people of Lebanon and is ready to offer help and support, including to those British nationals impacted.”

The explosion in Beirut
AFP via Getty Images

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said in a tweet: “The images of explosions in Beirut are deeply worrying. Our thoughts are with those affected, the emergency services and the people of Lebanon.”

Former chancellor Sajid Javid tweeted to say his “thoughts and prayers” were with the people of Lebanon, while London mayor Sadiq Khan said the city stood with Beirut amid “truly horrifying images” emerging from Beirut.

Liberal Democrat acting leader Sir Ed Davey said in a tweet there were “truly awful scenes and in a city that has already seen so much heartbreak”.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in