Sir Keir Starmer has said the UK will play a more active role in the Middle East following the collapse of the Assad regime in Syria.

The prime minister also announced a further £11m in humanitarian aid for the most vulnerable in Syria, where rebel forces have toppled the 24-year dictatorship of Bashar al Assad.

Speaking from Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia, Sir Keir said: “From cutting the cost of living for hardworking British people, to building resilient supply chains or supporting communities in Britain, what happens in the Middle East matters at home.

“That is why we are strengthening our defence partnership with Saudi Arabia, protecting the most vulnerable in Syria, supporting our partners in Lebanon and working with the international community to push for a ceasefire in Israel and Gaza, secure the return of all hostages and accelerate aid into Gaza.

UK will have to ‘consider’ whether to remove Syrian rebels as terror group

“To deliver on my plan for change, we need a strong foundation of security but that cannot just be built at home, it requires us to play our part on the world stage to support stability and protect partners from threats, both now and in the future.”

As well as vowing to play a more active role in the region, the prime minister said the UK would also seek to strengthen defence co-operation with Saudi Arabia.

The UK will also provide the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF), regarded as the only legitimate military force in Lebanon, with training and equipment in order to maintain the ceasefire agreed with Israel.

The prime minister is currently visiting the Middle East on a trip that was scheduled before the Assad regime fell.

All eyes are now on what happens next in Syria, with questions over what kind of government Hayat Tahrir al Sham (HTS) – the rebel group that led the successful offensive – will form.

HTS used to be a wing of al Qaeda known as the Nusra Front and has long been designated a terrorist group by the US, UK and Russia.

Its founder, Abu Mohammed al Jolani, cut ties with al Qaeda in 2016 in an effort to appear moderate and in 2021 he said he had no desire to wage war against Western countries.

On Monday Pat McFadden, the chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, said the UK government would “consider” removing the group from its list of banned terror organisations.

A Downing Street spokesperson was also asked whether the government would follow Germany in suspending asylum claims from Syria until the situation on the ground becomes clearer.

“Things are moving quickly,” they said. “The priority now is the safety of Syrian civilians and a political solution.

“All applications are based on individual merit and country guidance is kept under constant review.”

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Earlier Sir Keir “welcomed” the fall of the “brutal” regime ahead of his visit to the Gulf, saying the Syrian people “have put up with his brutal regime for far, far too long”.

He said the historic moment was “a turning point” and that it was “good that Assad has gone”.

However, he warned that “what happens next is not guaranteed”.

“We must work with allies across the globe, particularly here in the region, to ensure that what happens next is political, that it is peaceful, that it is the rejection of terrorism, a rejection of violence and inclusive.

“It’s very early days, but now all of our engagement, all of our focus has to be on making sure that what happens next is, what Syria has needed for so long, which is that peaceful future for its people.”