UK Armed Forces Minister Luke Pollard has said that the British government is monitoring the “fast-changing” situation in the Middle East closely, BBC reports.

The minister was delivering a statement in the House of Commons about protecting UK military bases and started speaking just minutes after the news from Qatar broke.

“This is a fast-changing situation and we are monitoring it closely,” he tells MPs.

He says he can’t give details at this stage, but adds, “The UK government utterly condemns any escalation.

“We have put force protection measures at its highest level to safeguard our personnel in the region,” he says, continuing: “We have robust measures in place to protect our armed forces personnel and their safety is our top priority.”