Rishi Sunak says UK ‘not seeking confrontation’ with Yemen’s Houthi fighters after second round of strikes
Rishi Sunak has said the UK is “not seeking a confrontation” with Yemen’s Houthi fighters – but it will strike again if their attacks in the Red Sea continue.
Royal Air Force jets took part in a second wave of joint US-UK action against the group on Monday night after further attacks on the vital shipping lane.
Politics Live: Rishi Sunak says UK ‘not seeking confrontation’ with strikes on Houthis
The prime minister told MPs: “We are not seeking a confrontation. We urge the Houthis and those who enable them to stop these illegal and unacceptable attacks.
“But, if necessary, the United Kingdom will not hesitate to respond again in self defence.
“We cannot stand by and allow these attacks to go unchallenged. Inaction is also a choice.”
Four RAF Typhoons and a pair of Voyager tankers were involved in the latest action.
Several targets were hit at two military sites north of Yemen’s capital Sanaa.
Mr Sunak said the strikes were aimed at sites the Houthis use to support their attacks on shipping and “all intended targets were destroyed”.
The Houthis, who are backed by Iran, have been targeting shipping they claim is linked to Israel in the context of the conflict with Hamas.
But the UK and allies have warned the attacks are indiscriminate and have included targeting Royal Navy and allied warships.
Middle East latest: Houthis warn UK and US to ‘expect a response’
The Red Sea route leading to and from the Suez Canal is one of the world’s most important shipping routes and there are concerns the cost of diverting vessels away from it, around southern Africa, will fuel inflation and damage the global economy.
Outlining the UK’s wider approach to the situation, Mr Sunak said new sanctions would be announced “in the coming days” and in the long term, the UK must “end the illegal flow of arms to the Houthi militia”.
He said this would include “working closely with our allies and partners to disrupt and deter the supply of weapons and components”.
“We are going to use the most effective means at our disposal to cut off the Houthis’ financial resources where they are used to fund these attacks,” he added.
“We are working closely with the United States on this and plan to announce new sanction measures in the coming days.”
Mr Sunak also said the UK will continue to deliver aid to Yemen, which is embroiled in a civil war.
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Labour: ‘We back this targeted action’
Sir Keir Starmer said he backed the “targeted action to reinforce maritime security in the Red Sea”.
He told MPs: “The Houthi attacks must stop. They are designed to destabilise us so we must stand united and strong, they bring danger to ordinary civilians who are working hard at sea, so we must protect them, and they aim to disrupt the flow of goods, food and medicines, so we must not let them go unaddressed.”
It follows criticism that the Labour leader and the Commons speaker were not briefed on the operation ahead of time.
Sir Keir and Sir Lindsay Hoyle were informed by Downing Street at the time of the strikes rather than before – as was the case in the last round of action on 11 January.
MPs will get the chance to debate the situation on Wednesday but will not be given a vote on the military action.
The prime minister’s official spokesman said he was “acting in line with precedence”, given military action is a prerogative matter.
However, many MPs want a vote, as they are are concerned about the conflict in the Middle East escalating.
Labour MP Apsana Begum said the strikes in Yemen “escalates risks” in the region, but the prime minister said it was wrong to “draw a link” between the action in Red Sea and the war in Gaza.
As the prime minister spoke, the government published its legal position on the situation.
It said action to “downgrade the Houthi’s capabilities and deter further attacks was lawfully taken”.
World
Trump criticises Putin after potentially ‘historic’ meeting with Zelenskyy before Pope’s funeral
Donald Trump has criticised Vladimir Putin and suggested a shift in his stance towards the Russian president after a meeting with Volodymyr Zelenskyy before the Pope’s funeral.
The Ukrainian president said the one-on-one talks could prove to be “historic” after pictures showed him sitting opposite Mr Trump, around two feet apart, in the large marble hall inside St Peter’s Basilica.
The US president said he doubted his Russian counterpart’s willingness to end the war after leaving Rome after the funeral of Pope Francis at the Vatican.
Follow live updates: 200,000 mourn at Vatican
In a post on his Truth Social platform, he said “there was no reason” for the Russian president “to be shooting missiles into civilian areas, cities and towns, over the last few days”.
The two leaders held talks before attending the Pope’s funeral
He added: “It makes me think that maybe he doesn’t want to stop the war, he’s just tapping me along, and has to be dealt with differently, through ‘Banking’ or ‘Secondary Sanctions?’ Too many people are dying!!!”
The meeting between the US and Ukrainian leaders was their first face-to-face encounter since a very public row in the Oval Office in February.
Mr Zelenskyy said he had a good meeting with Mr Trump in which they talked about the defence of the Ukrainian people, a full and unconditional ceasefire, and a durable and lasting peace that would prevent the war restarting.
Other images released by the Ukrainian president’s office show Sir Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron were present for part of the talks, which were described as “positive” by the French presidency.
Mr Zelenskyy‘s spokesman said the meeting lasted for around 15 minutes and he and Mr Trump had agreed to hold further discussions later on Saturday.
The world leaders shared a moment before the service
Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelenskyy meet in the Basilica
But the US president left Rome for Washington on Air Force One soon after the funeral without any other talks having taken place.
The Ukrainian president’s office said there was no second meeting in Rome because of the tight schedule of both leaders, although he had separate discussions with Mr Starmer and Mr Macron.
The French president said in a post on X “Ukraine is ready for an unconditional ceasefire” and that a so-called coalition of the willing, led by the UK and France, would continue working to achieve a lasting peace.
There was applause from some of the other world leaders in attendance at the Vatican when Mr Zelenskyy walked out of St Peter’s Basilica after stopping in front of the pontiff’s coffin to pay his respects.
Donald Trump and the Ukrainian president met for the first time since their Oval Office row. Pic: Reuters
Sir Tony Brenton, the former British ambassador to Russia, said the event presents diplomatic opportunities, including the “biggest possible meeting” between Mr Trump and the Ukrainian leader.
He told Sky News it could mark “an important step” in starting the peace process between Russia and Ukraine.
Professor Father Francesco Giordano told Sky News the meeting is being called “Pope Francis’s miracle” by members of the clergy, adding: “There’s so many things that happened today – it was just overwhelming.”
The bilateral meeting comes after Mr Trump’s peace negotiator Steve Witkoff held talks with Mr Putin at the Kremlin.
They discussed “the possibility of resuming direct negotiations between Russia and Ukraine”, Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov said.
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Russia and Ukraine have not held direct talks since the early weeks of the war, which began in February 2022.
Mr Trump has claimed a deal to end the war is “very close” and has urged Mr Zelenskyy to “get it done” in a post on his Truth Social platform.
He has previously warned both sides his administration would walk away from its efforts to achieve a peace if the two sides do not agree a deal soon.
Meanwhile, the Polish armed forces said a Russian military helicopter violated its airspace over the Baltic Sea on Friday evening.
“The nature of the incident indicates that Russia is testing the readiness of our air defence systems,” they said in a post on X.
On an extraordinary day, remarkable pictures on the margins that capture what may be a turning point for the world.
In a corner of St Peter’s Basilica before the funeral of Pope Francis, the leaders of America and Ukraine sit facing each other in two solitary chairs.
They look like confessor and sinner except we cannot tell which one is which.
Leaning forward hands together in their laps, Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelenskyy stare at each other in one photo.
In another, the Ukrainian president seems to be remonstrating with the US president. This is their first encounter since their infamous bust-up in the Oval Office.
The two leaders held talks before attending the Pope’s funeral
Other pictures show the moment their French and British counterparts introduced the two men. There is a palpable sense of nervousness in the way the leaders engage.
We do not know what the two presidents said in their brief meeting.
But in the mind of the Ukrainian leader will be the knowledge President Trump has this week said America will reward Russia for its unprovoked brutal invasion of his country, under any peace deal.
Mr Trump has presented Ukraine and Russia with a proposal and ultimatum so one-sided it could have been written in the Kremlin.
Kyiv must surrender the land Russia has taken by force, Crimea forever, the rest at least for now. And it must submit to an act of extortion, a proposed deal that would hand over half its mineral wealth effectively to America.
The world leaders shared a moment before the service
Afterwards, Zelenskyy said it had been a good meeting that could turn out to be historic “if we reach results together”.
They had talked, he said, about the defence of Ukraine, a full and unconditional ceasefire and a durable and lasting peace that will prevent a war restarting.
The Trump peace proposal includes only unspecified security guarantees for Ukraine from countries that do not include the US. It rules out any membership of Ukraine.
Ukraine’s allies are watching closely to see if Mr Trump will apply any pressure on Vladimir Putin, let alone punish him for recent bloody attacks on Ukraine.
Or will he simply walk away if the proposal fails, blaming Ukrainian intransigence, however outrageously, before moving onto a rapprochement with Moscow.
If he does, America’s role as guarantor of international security will be seen effectively as over.
This could be the week we see the world order as we have known it since the end of the Second World War buried, as well as a pope.
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