- By Henry Zeffman & Christy Cooney
- BBC News
Image source, Getty Images
Rishi Sunak is to address MPs later for the first time since the UK joined US strikes on Houthi targets in Yemen.
The government will “look again” at further strikes against the armed group if attacks on vessels in the Red Sea do not stop, Defence Secretary Grant Shapps told BBC News.
But Mr Shapps said the UK had “no interest in entering some extended approach in the Red Sea”.
“We simply want international shipping to be able to run.”
Asked if there would be further strikes, the defence secretary told BBC Breakfast: “Of course, if the Houthis don’t stop, we will have to look at this again.
“We very much hope they will take a lesson from this and stop harassing shipping.”
He also defended the government’s decision to strike the Houthis without a debate or vote in parliament first.
The prime minister prompted criticism from some opposition after authorising the strikes – which he described as “self-defence” – without consulting Parliament.
Mr Shapps said: “We needed to act. In fact, we did that with quite a lot of consultation with parliament. With the Speaker, with the leader of the opposition and others.”
Calling the strikes, which targeted 16 Houthi rebel sites, as “discrete proportionate action”, he said he hoped it sent a “a very clear message that you can’t have thugs disrupting international shipping in that way”.
He added that strikes were also designed to send a message to Iran, who he accused of training and equipping the Houthis – a military and political group who control the north of Yemen and its capital Sanaa.
He also rejected the Houthi’s assertion that they were only attacking ships linked to Israel, explaining 50 different nations have had their ships attacked.
The group’s attacks on cargo ships – some of which have no clear connection to Israel – have led major shipping companies to divert vessels away from the Red Sea, instead taking a longer route around southern Africa.
Mr Sunak is due to deliver his statement about the strikes, which targeted Houthi command, storage, and launch facilities, in the House of Commons this afternoon.
This is the first time Mr Sunak has decided to take part in military action since becoming prime minister in October 2022, making Monday’s statement a significant political milestone for him.
Conservative MPs have generally been supportive of Mr Sunak’s decision over the weekend though he is likely to face questions today about whether the UK will take part in further strikes and what plans the government has to avoid a broader regional conflict.
The government is not legally required to seek parliamentary approval before taking military action. However, a convention has been established in recent years under which the Commons is – in most circumstances – given the opportunity to debate the deployment of military forces in advance.
But Liberal Democrat foreign affairs spokeswoman Layla Moran said Parliament had a “right to debate and vote on military action”, and former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said it was “utterly disgraceful that Parliament has not even been consulted”.
Where is Yemen and where did the air strikes happen?
Emily Foster is a globe-trotting journalist based in the UK. Her articles offer readers a global perspective on international events, exploring complex geopolitical issues and providing a nuanced view of the world’s most pressing challenges.
