The British government would not “hesitate to protect” UK security amid ongoing tensions with Houthi rebels, Rishi Sunak has said.
The British military joined forces with the US on Thursday night as it launched attacks against Houthi bases in Yemen – in retaliation for the targeting of international trade in the Red Sea.
The prime minister said the aim of the action was to “de-escalate tensions in the region and actually restore stability back to the area”.
However, with questions swirling around over whether further action would be taken, he added the UK “will not hesitate to protect our security where required”.
Mr Sunak is due to give a statement in the Commons about the operation at around 3.30pm.
Politics live: Ministers would consider further action against Houthis, says Shapps
The US carried out a further strike in Yemen on Friday, but reports suggest only 25% of the Houthi capability to carry out attacks on cargo ships had been damaged.
Earlier, Defence Secretary Grant Shapps told Sky News: “We never thought that this would remove all of their facilities. That wasn’t the goal. The goal was to send a very clear message.”
An RAF Typhoon aircraft takes off to join the US-led air strikes in Yemen
Describing Houthi attacks on the key shipping lane as “thuggery”, Mr Shapps also said there was no planned escalation of the action, and the UK’s “intention” was not to go into Yemen.
But he insisted the government would “monitor the situation very carefully”.
A spokesman for the Yemeni armed forces in the Houthi-controlled north of the country said in a televised statement the bombardment would “not go unanswered and unpunished”.
And it linked the strikes with the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas, saying it would not deter their support for the Palestinians.
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‘UK would consider further action against Houthis if needed.’
On Sunday, Foreign Secretary Lord Cameron denied any link between the Yemen strikes and the war in Gaza to Sky News, saying the action was “completely separate”.
But experts warned those in Arab nations would be unlikely to see it in the same way.
Speaking to reporters on Monday, Mr Sunak said: “We faced an escalating series of attacks from the Houthis on commercial shipping, including an attack on a Royal Navy warship. That’s unacceptable.
“It’s right that we took proportionate, targeted action against military targets to send a strong message that that behaviour is unacceptable.
“It was a last resort, it came after the end of exhaustive diplomatic activity including a UN Security Council.”
The prime minister added: “Now, I think it is incumbent on the Houthis to recognise the international condemnation for what they are doing and desist.
“But we, of course, will not hesitate to protect our security where required.”
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Mr Sunak will make a statement on the military action in the Commons later on Monday, four days after the strikes.
He briefed Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer ahead of the strikes on Thursday, as well as the Speaker, Sir Lindsay Hoyle.
Speaking to reporters on Monday, Sir Keir said: “The action that the government took in conjunction with the US is action that we support.
“What we now need to hear from the prime minister is the scope, the basis, the full reasoning behind the decision that he took and of course the question of whether more action may be needed, and what processes will be put in place.”
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However, some MPs are angry ministers did not bring the issue to parliament before joining the US-led operation last week, with the Liberal Democrats demanding a retrospective vote on the issue.
Asked if he would support further strikes in Yemen, Sir Keir said: “If the government is proposing further action, then it should say so and set out the case and we’re going to have to consider that on a case by case basis on the merits.”
Satoshi Nakamoto, the pseudonymous creator of Bitcoin, marks their 50th birthday amid a year of rising institutional and geopolitical adoption of the world’s first cryptocurrency.
The identity of Nakamoto remains one of the biggest mysteries in crypto, with speculation ranging from cryptographers like Adam Back and Nick Szabo to broader theories involving government intelligence agencies.
While Nakamoto’s identity remains anonymous, the Bitcoin (BTC) creator is believed to have turned 50 on April 5 based on details shared in the past.
According to archived data from his P2P Foundation profile, Nakamoto once claimed to be a 37-year-old man living in Japan and listed his birthdate as April 5, 1975.
Source: Web.archive.org
Nakamoto’s anonymity has played a vital role in maintaining the decentralized nature of the Bitcoin network, which has no central authority or leadership.
The Bitcoin wallet associated with Nakamoto, which holds over 1 million BTC, has laid dormant for more than 16 years despite BTC rising from $0 to an all-time high above $109,000 in January.
Satoshi Nakamoto statue in Lugano, Switzerland. Source: Cointelegraph
Nakamoto’s 50th birthday comes nearly a month after US President Donald Trump signed an executive order creating a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and a Digital Asset Stockpile, marking the first major step toward integrating Bitcoin into the US financial system.
Related: Bitcoin at 16: From experiment to trillion-dollar asset
Nakamoto’s legacy: a “cornerstone of economic sovereignty”
“At 50, Nakamoto’s legacy is no longer just code; it’s a cornerstone of economic sovereignty,” according to Anndy Lian, author and intergovernmental blockchain expert.
“Bitcoin’s reserve status signals trust in its scarcity and resilience,” Lian told Cointelegraph, adding:
“What’s fascinating is the timing. Fifty feels symbolic — half a century of life, mirrored by Bitcoin’s journey from a white paper to a trillion-dollar asset. Nakamoto’s vision of trustless, peer-to-peer money has outgrown its cypherpunk roots, entering the halls of power.”
However, lingering questions about Nakamoto remain unanswered, including whether they still hold the keys to their wallet, which is “a fortune now tied to US policy,” Lian said.
Related: Bitcoin’s next catalyst: End of $36T US debt ceiling suspension
Is Satoshi Nakamoto wealthier than Bill Gates?
In February, Arkham Intelligence published findings that attribute 1.096 million BTC — then valued at more than $108 billion — to Nakamoto. That would place him above Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates on the global wealth rankings, according to data shared by Coinbase director Conor Grogan.
Satoshi’s new addresses. Source: Conor Grogan
If accurate, this would make Nakamoto the world’s 16th richest person.
Despite the growing interest in Nakamoto’s identity and holdings, his early decision to remain anonymous and inactive has helped preserve Bitcoin’s decentralized ethos — a principle that continues to define the cryptocurrency to this day.
Magazine: 10 crypto theories that missed as badly as ‘Peter Todd is Satoshi’
The United States stock market lost more in value over the April 4 trading day than the entire cryptocurrency market is worth, as fears over US President Donald Trump’s tariffs continue to ramp up.
On April 4, the US stock market lost $3.25 trillion — around $570 billion more than the entire crypto market’s $2.68 trillion valuation at the time of publication.
Nasdaq 100 is now “in a bear market”
Among the Magnificent-7 stocks, Tesla (TSLA) led the losses on the day with a 10.42% drop, followed by Nvidia (NVDA) down 7.36% and Apple (AAPL) falling 7.29%, according to TradingView data.
The significant decline across the board signals that the Nasdaq 100 is now “in a bear market” after falling 6% across the trading day, trading resource account The Kobeissi Letter said in an April 4 X post. This is the largest daily decline since March 16, 2020.
“US stocks have now erased a massive -$11 TRILLION since February 19 with recession odds ABOVE 60%,” it added. The Kobessi Letter said Trump’s April 2 tariff announcement was “historic” and if the tariffs continue, a recession will be “impossible to avoid.”
Source: Anthony Scaramucci
On April 2, Trump signed an executive order establishing reciprocal tariffs on trading partners and a 10% baseline tariff on all imports from all countries.
Trump said the reciprocal tariffs will be roughly half the rate US trading partners impose on American goods.
Related: Bitcoin bulls defend $80K support as ‘World War 3 of trade wars’ crushes US stocks
Meanwhile, the crypto industry has pointed out that while the stock market continues to decline, Bitcoin (BTC) remains stronger than most expected.
Crypto trader Plan Markus pointed out in an April 4 X post that while the entire stock market “is tanking,” Bitcoin is holding.
Source: Jeff Dorman
Even some crypto skeptics have pointed out the contrast between Bitcoin’s performance and the US stock market during the recent period of macro uncertainty.
Stock market commentator Dividend Hero told his 203,200 X followers that he has “hated on Bitcoin in the past, but seeing it not tank while the stock market does is very interesting to me.”
Meanwhile, technical trader Urkel said Bitcoin “doesn’t appear to care one bit about tariff wars and markets tanking.” Bitcoin is trading at $83,749 at the time of publication, down 0.16% over the past seven days, according to CoinMarketCap data.
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