HMS Prince of Wales deployment notice cut to five days amid criticism of UK readiness
The crew of HMS Prince of Wales have been given notice to be ready to sail this week.
The order was issued amid criticism of the UK's preparedness to protect assets in Cyprus and the Middle East.
The Ministry of Defence said the carrier was already on a very high level of readiness and this had been reduced, reportedly from 14 days to five.
That could see the Royal Navy's flagship leave Portsmouth as early as Wednesday, although the MOD said there were currently no plans to deploy her.
On Saturday, Defence Secretary John Healey said he had been putting extra defences into the Middle East since January.
These include F-35s, Typhoons, air defence systems, drone teams and radar.
Type 45 destroyer HMS Dragon is currently being loaded with weaponry in Portsmouth ahead of being sent to the Mediterranean this week.
Chief of the Defence Staff Air Chief Marshal Sir Rich Knighton said "we were well set with our posture that's been built up over several weeks".
He said he was "enormously proud of the work of the Royal Navy, who have been working night and day" to get HMS Dragon ready with munitions and stores on board and get her out of her state of maintenance.
However, shadow defence secretary James Cartlidge said: "Labour's talk of putting a carrier on greater readiness is a distraction from the real question: why didn't Starmer plan properly and move naval assets weeks ago, when a major US operation was clearly coming?"
He told the Telegraph that if the carrier were to be deployed, "there would be serious questions about escort ships".
A Ministry of Defence spokesperson said: "We have been bolstering our UK military presence in the Middle East since January, and we have already deployed capabilities to protect British people and our allies in the region, including Typhoons, F-35 jets, air defence systems and an extra 400 personnel into Cyprus.
"Since the strikes began, we've had British jets in the sky shooting down drowns and have sent additional assets to the region to further reinforce our air defences, including more Typhoons and Wildcat helicopters with drone-busting missiles.
"HMS Prince of Wales has always been on very high readiness and we are increasing the preparedness of the carrier, reducing the time it would take to set sail for any deployment."
Over the weekend, the MOD confirmed the US had started using British bases for "specific defensive operations to prevent Iran firing missiles into the region" after American bombers landed at RAF Fairford.
A 146ft B-1 Lancer bomber arrived in Gloucestershire on Friday, and three more followed on Saturday.
A Merlin helicopter is being sent to the region to help with surveillance from the air, and RAF Typhoon and F-35 jets are continuing air operations over Jordan, Qatar and Cyprus.
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