Prime Minister David Cameron has cut his holiday short by a day in order to chair a COBRA meeting on the ongoing crisis in Iraq.

Cameron had been expected to return to Downing Street on Thursday, but cut his holiday short by a day amid criticism from politicians that he was sunning himself in Portugal while RAF crews were flying dangerous missions in Iraq to bring humanitarian aid to the Yazidis stranded on Mount Sinjar..

Earlier, International Development Secretary Justine Greening confirmed a successful third round of aid drops to those under threat and surrounded by militants from the Islamic State (formerly ISIS), and the government released a video of the latest aid drop (above).

Greening said:

“As thousands of Iraqi people remain cut off away from their homes, we are focussed on getting help to those in need, particularly those trapped on Mount Sinjar.

After last night the RAF have successfully made 5 drops, including thousands of containers filled with clean water that can also be used to purify dirty water and hundreds of shelter kits.”

The UK has committed £13 million to help those in need in Iraq, including £2 million of emergency humanitarian supplies, £2.5 million of support for the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), and £3 million of fast-tracked funding that will go to charities and NGOs who are already on the ground.