Ever heard of indicators and warnings?
Events in Tunisia, Yemen, Jordan and Egypt kicked off the Arab Spring in late Jan/early Feb and looked like spreading. HMG should have started contingency planning and considered deploying RN assets, including a carrier had one been available. I suggested it in other forums at the time. Earmarked ships and submarines could have stored, sailed and been 'acclimatising' in the Med by mid to late Feb, picking up anything else necessary at Gib or Malta en route.
The PM proposed his No Fly Zone in the House of Commons on 28 Feb (
link). UNSCR 1973 wasn't passed until 17 Mar (
link). RN assets would already have been in precisely the right place (as was HMS
Triumph) to acquire situational awareness and act with maximum effect for NEO or whatever else necessary. Had nothing transpired, RN units could simply have melted away to continue monitoring events in North Africa/the Middle East while continuing to provide valuable intelligence.