'We will do what is necessary to protect our ships': David Cameron refuses to rule out more strikes on Houthi rebels
12 January 2024, 18:41
David Cameron has refused to rule out more airstrikes on Houthi rebels in Yemen, saying that Britain will "do what is necessary" to protect its ships.
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The UK and the US launched targeted airstrikes on Thursday night against military targets belonging to the Houthis, in an effort to stop them attacking ships passing through the Bab al-Mandeb strait, a vital trade route.
The Western strikes, which were aimed at 60 targets in 16 locations in Houthi-controlled Yemen, killed five people and wounded six more, according to the rebels.
The Houthis had been attacking ships in the Red Sea since late November - and the Foreign Secretary said on Friday that Western countries issuing repeated warnings to the rebels "was not working".
The government has described the airstrikes as an act of self-defence. Others have said they are concerned the attacks may lead to a further escalation in the region.
The Houthis have vowed to retaliate. A missile was fired at a ship in the region on Friday afternoon but landed up to 500 metres away. It is unclear if the Houthis were behind the attack.
The rebels are backed by the Iranians and are allies of Hamas. They have been firing rockets at Israel in a supposed act of solidarity with Palestinians amid the war in Gaza.
The government said on Friday that there were no plans to launch further strikes - but that the UK keeps national security issues "under review".
Lord Cameron told US outlet NBC on Friday: "We will do what is necessary to protect our ships to protect maritime freedom of navigation on important maritime pathways."
He added: "But be clear what we were doing - warning - was not working.
"The number of attacks was increasing the severity of those attacks was increasing. This escalation has been caused by the Houthis.
"And this action is in response to that to send a very clear message that if you act in this way, there aren't just warnings there are consequences."
Rishi Sunak said earlier that joint US-British strikes against the Houthis were a "strong signal" to the Yemeni rebels.
The attacks have steadily escalated, with a British warship, HMS Diamond, joining the US Navy in repelling an attempted drone strike earlier this week.
Mr Sunak said Britain needed to act because the Houthis' threats to shipping, the global economy and sailors' lives could not continue.
"Over the last month, we've seen a significant increase in the number of Houthi attacks on commercial shipping in the Red Sea," he said.
"That's putting innocent lives at risk, it's disrupting the global economy and it's also destabilising the region.
"And in that time, we've also seen the single biggest attack on a British Navy warship that we've seen in decades."
President Joe Biden said: "These strikes are in direct response to unprecedented Houthi attacks against international maritime vessels in the Red Sea — including the use of anti-ship ballistic missiles for the first time in history."
Ali al-Qahoum, a senior Houthi member, promised retaliation and said: "The battle will be bigger ... and beyond the imagination and expectation of the Americans and the British."
The Bab El-Mandeb Strait accounts for around 12% of global shipping.
Because of the attacks, many ships are being forced to take a longer route to the UK and other western countries, going around the Cape of Good Hope at the very south of the continent of Africa, rather than through the Bab El-Mandeb Strait and Suez Canal.
This is causing shipping delays for some retailers, with the possibility that this could drive up prices, which could even lead to interest rates rising again.
