The Secretary of State for Defence (Grant Shapps) With permission,
Mr Speaker, I would like to make a statement on the recent response
to Houthi aggression in the Red sea. Thirty years ago, the United
Nations convention on the law of the sea came into force. That
agreement was ratified by 168 nations and it states explicitly in
article 17 that “ships of all States, whether coastal or
land-locked, enjoy the right of innocent passage through the
territorial sea”....Request free trial
The Secretary of State for Defence ()
With permission, Mr Speaker, I would like to make a statement on
the recent response to Houthi aggression in the Red sea. Thirty
years ago, the United Nations convention on the law of the sea
came into force. That agreement was ratified by 168 nations and
it states explicitly in article 17 that
“ships of all States, whether coastal or land-locked, enjoy the
right of innocent passage through the territorial sea”.
Since 19 October the Houthis, aided and abetted by Iran, have
launched a ruthless and reckless campaign of attacks against
commercial shipping. These attacks are not solely limited to
commerce; our military vessels are also in the Houthi crosshairs.
The Royal Navy, the US Navy and most recently the French Navy
have also been targets. Vessels owned by Chinese and Bulgarian
companies and crews from India, Sri Lanka and Syria have been
targeted indiscriminately, making a mockery of Houthi claims that
this is all about Israel.
From the outset we have been clear that this cannot carry on.
Freedom of navigation underpins not only our security but our
prosperity. Around 80% of traded goods are carried over the seas,
as are about 90% of the goods arriving in the United Kingdom.
These necessities on which we depend arrive through a small
number of critical waterways, so upholding these precious
freedoms is essential for the preservation of life. This
Government are determined to help restore the tranquillity of the
Red sea. That is why the UK was one of the first members to join
the US-led taskforce, Operation Prosperity Guardian, with HMS
Richmond now taking over from HMS Diamond to patrol in the Red
sea to help protect commercial shipping. It is why we are working
in tandem with the US and other allies to reduce the Houthis’
capacity to harm our security and economic interest, to limit
their impact on the flow of humanitarian aid, to prevent further
regional escalation, and to show Iran in no uncertain terms that
we will push back against its destabilising behaviour.
On occasion, in response to specific threats and in line with
international law and the principle of self-defence, we have
tackled the Houthi threat head-on. Since 11 January, we have
conducted a number of precision strikes against Houthi targets.
In these previous rounds of strikes, RAF aircraft successfully
struck some 32 targets at six different locations, including
drone ground control stations as well as other facilities
directly involved in the Houthis’ drone and missile attacks on
shipping. I am pleased to say that it remains the case that, to
date, we have seen no evidence at all to indicate that the RAF
strikes caused civilian casualties, and the UN has noted that it
has observed no civilian impact arising from the RAF strikes.
Although we have eroded the Houthis’ capacity, their intent to
prosecute indiscriminate attacks against innocent vessels remains
undiminished. Just last week, MV Rubymar—a Belize-flagged,
British-registered cargo vessel—was targeted in the gulf of Aden
near the Bab al-Mandab strait. Hit by missiles, the crew were
forced to abandon ship. An oil slick, caused entirely by damage
sustained in the Houthi attack, now stretches many miles from the
vessel. On Thursday, the British-registered MV Islander was
similarly targeted. It was struck by two missiles, resulting in a
fire on board. Fortunately, there was no loss of life.
This all comes not long after two US-registered bulk carriers, MV
Navis Fortuna and MV Sea Champion, suffered minor damage from
Houthi strikes. The attack on Sea Champion highlights the
Houthis’ recklessness and near-sightedness, considering that Sea
Champion has delivered humanitarian aid to Yemen 11 times in the
past five years and was due to unload thousands of tonnes of much
needed aid to the Yemeni people through the ports of Aden and
Hodeidah. The Houthis’ attack was, quite simply, callous. As
near-sighted as these attacks are, they continue to have serious
and potentially long-term consequences across the region, as they
cut off vital aid to civilians in Yemen and Syria, restrict
crucial food imports to Djibouti and threaten significant impacts
in Egypt.
Last time I spoke on this issue, I told the House that we will
not hesitate to act again in self-defence. We have given the
Houthis ample opportunity to de-escalate, but once again, the
Houthi zealots have ignored our repeated warnings. As a result,
we have once again taken action to defend ourselves against these
intolerable attacks. On Saturday night, a Royal Air Force package
of four Typhoons, supported by two Voyager tankers, joined US
forces in a deliberate strike against Houthi military facilities
in Yemen that have been conducting missile and drone attacks on
commercial shipping and coalition naval forces in the Bab
al-Mandab strait, the southern Red sea and the gulf of Aden. As
the House knows, it was the fourth such operation to degrade the
Houthi capabilities that are being used to threaten global trade
in the Red sea.
Intelligence analysis indicates that the strikes were successful,
and that the sites we attacked were being used by the long-range
drones that the Houthis use for both reconnaissance and attack
missions, including at a former surface-to-air missile battery
site several miles north-east of Sana’a. Our aircraft used
Paveway IV precision-guided munitions against the drones and
their launchers. Assessment continues at this still early stage,
but the analysis so far indicates that all eight RAF targets were
successfully struck. Three buildings were hit at the Bani
military site, and five one-way attack drones are assessed to
have been destroyed at the Sana’a military site.
On planning these strikes, as is normal practice for the RAF,
operations were carried out meticulously, and consideration was
given to minimising any risk of causing civilian casualties.
Assessments so far indicate that across the four sets of
airstrikes, some 40 military targets have been hit, at seven
different Houthi facilities. I pay tribute to the immense skill
and tireless dedication of the men and women who made that
possible.
Once again, I would like to make it clear that military action is
only one aspect of our approach to the crisis in the Red sea. The
whole international community has an interest in stopping these
attacks, and we continue to work with it to turn that intent into
action. The Prime Minister has engaged regional leaders,
including the Sultan of Oman, as well as G7 partners. The Foreign
Secretary and I have travelled repeatedly to the region in recent
weeks to discuss regional security. We are determined to end the
illegal flow of arms to the Houthis, using whatever levers are
available, including enduring diplomatic engagement, and
determined to continue to intercept illegal weapons and the
shipping that helps to feed that supply. We are cutting off the
Houthis’ financial resources, to further degrade their capacity
to conduct attacks; for example, jointly with the US, we are
sanctioning four Houthi leaders, and we will continue to work
with the US to cut the flow of Houthi funds.
Despite the best efforts of the Houthis, we also continue to
provide humanitarian help to people in the middle east. This
year, we will send some £88 million of humanitarian support to
Yemen, which will feed 100,000 Yeminis every month. The UK has
recently worked closely with our Jordanian partners to airdrop
life-saving supplies directly to the Tal al-Hawa Hospital in
northern Gaza.
The Houthis could stop this barbaric behaviour any time they
want. Instead, they callously choose to continue their reckless
acts of aggression, causing harm not just to innocents, but to
their own people in Yemen. Until they stop, we will continue to
act, but consensus continues to grow that the Houthis’ violations
simply cannot continue. That is why, recently, the European Union
officially launched its Operation Aspides; Members will know that
aspides meant “shield” in ancient Greek. We very much welcome the
commitment of our EU partners to joining in the work that has
been going on, because no nation should ever be able to threaten
the arteries of global commerce.
Thirty years ago, nations of the world all came together to
protect innocent passage on our high seas. Thirty years on, the
House should be in no doubt whatsoever that we will continue to
stand up for those rights, and do all that we can to defend life
and limb of sailors everywhere, and to preserve their precious
trading routes, on which we all depend. I commend this statement
to the House.
Mr Speaker
I call the shadow Secretary of State.
3.53pm
(Wentworth and Dearne)
(Lab)
I thank the Defence Secretary for advance sight of his statement.
We accept that the weekend’s airstrikes were legal, limited, and
targeted to minimise the risk of civilian casualties. We pay
tribute to the total professionalism of all forces personnel
involved in the operations, which were conducted to protect
shipping in the Red sea and uphold freedom of navigation for all
nations. As the Defence Secretary said, the Houthis have been
attacking ships of all nations: Chinese, Bulgarian and French
ships have been targeted; Danish, Greek and UK ships have been
hit; and even aid vessels destined for Yemen have been in the
firing line. The UK and US Navies have been forced to shoot down
drones in self-defence.
Today, the British Chambers of Commerce reports that more than
half of British exporters are being hit by higher costs and
delays because of the Houthi attacks. The Houthis are threatening
international trade and maritime security, and putting civilian
and military lives in serious danger. That is why the UN Security
Council last month passed a resolution condemning the Houthis’
actions “in the strongest terms”, and demanding that their
attacks cease.
We accept that the military action over the weekend was
justified, but was it effective? What were the objectives for
these latest strikes? Were they fully met? Were the targets at
both Sana’a and Bani destroyed? Ministers have said that the aims
of earlier strikes were, first, to deter Houthi attacks and,
secondly, to degrade their capabilities, but deterrence does not
feature in the weekend’s eight-nation joint statement in support
of the strikes, and the Defence Secretary said this afternoon
that “Houthi intent remains undiminished”. Has deterring attacks
been dropped as one of the Government’s objectives for this
military action?
As the Defence Secretary says, this was “the fourth such
operation” since 11 January. When will the Government judge this
to be a sustained campaign? At what stage do the Government think
that Parliament needs a say? It is the Prime Minister’s
responsibility to authorise UK military action and account for it
to the public in this House. When will we hear from him?
Any military action against the Houthis must be reinforced by a
diplomatic drive in the region aimed at stopping the flow of
Iranian weapons, cutting off Houthi finances and settling the
civil war in Yemen. What more can the Defence Secretary say about
the Government’s wider action? We continue to back the Royal
Navy’s role in defence of shipping from all nations through
Operation Prosperity Guardian. How is that US-led taskforce
co-ordinating with Operation Aspides, the European Union’s new
naval presence in the Red sea?
Finally, I totally reject Houthi claims that firing missiles and
drones at ships from around the world is somehow linked to the
conflict in Gaza. Those attacks do absolutely nothing for the
Palestinians, whose agonies are extreme. Last week, Parliament
passed Labour’s motion calling for an immediate humanitarian
ceasefire. We all want: an end to the fighting, now; no ground
offensive in Rafah; all hostages released; and aid to Gaza ramped
up greatly. Let us come together this week to work for a
ceasefire that is observed by all sides, and that can build into
the political process that is needed if we are to secure lasting
peace, through a two-state solution, for both Palestine and
Israel.
I am grateful for the right hon. Gentleman’s comments. He asked a
series of questions, and I will respond directly.
On effectiveness, we believe that this set of attacks was
effective, and early reconnaissance shows as much, as I outlined
in my statement. As ever, it will take a few days to get a full
picture, but we have no reason to think that the action was not
entirely successful.
We very much intend our attacks on Houthi infrastructure to be a
deterrent. The Houthis think that they can continue their
actions; our strikes will ensure that they understand the
consequences of those actions and the price to pay for them, but
perhaps other people, controlling other waterways, will also
understand that the world will not simply stand back and allow
those actions to take place.
The right hon. Gentleman asks about the Prime Minister coming to
the House. I gently point out to him that, technically, he is
wrong; the Defence Secretary has the legal authority to sign off
actions, as part of royal prerogative. Legally, I have
responsibility for the attacks, although, as he rightly points
out, the Prime Minister came to the House to give the first two
statements on them. As the message in each of those statements is
similar and I have legal responsibility, it seems proper and
right for me to come to the House and respond to questions. We
have had very full statements after each round of attacks.
The shadow Defence Secretary is quite right to say that this sits
within a much wider diplomatic context. I went into some detail
in my comments, but I am happy to talk more about the wider work
that is going on in the region to try to bring to a successful
conclusion the wider conflict, which is, in my view—and I think I
heard him say in his view—nothing to do with why the Houthis are
attacking shipping in the Red sea.
Finally, I would just gently say—although many of the SNP are not
here—that to claim that the House passed in full agreement a
particular resolution last week is a little bit rich given the
circumstances.
Mr Speaker
I call the Chair of the Defence Committee.
Sir (Horsham) (Con)
Open source information suggests that the strikes are diminishing
the capability of the Houthis to attack international shipping.
As that is both welcome and important, will the Secretary of
State concur that that is also his assessment? It is welcome that
Aspides and Prosperity Guardian are co-ordinating, but does that
also include on the interdiction of weapons being smuggled from
Iran into Yemen?
My right hon. Friend is right that we are degrading—attrited, as
they say in military terms—that capability. However, it is still
the case that the Houthis are capable of launching attacks. To
what extent? Well, the House will come to its own conclusions,
but it will note that the gap between the first three rounds of
attacks was relatively short, and that the gap between that and
this fourth round has been longer. Again, we will wait to see
what the response is.
On interdictions: yes, we will certainly continue to try to
ensure that Iran is not resupplying. The single best message to
go out from this House is that Iran should stop that activity. It
is worth noting that it has been only Britain and the US that
have been doing interdictions in the past few years—and, of
course, we will continue to do so.
Mr Speaker
I call the SNP spokesperson.
(West
Dunbartonshire) (SNP)
First, let me thank the Secretary of State for due sight of his
statement. I think that, as an opposition party, we would give it
our tentative support. What the shadow Defence Secretary said
about possible mission creep does give us concern, but I am sure
that it is the role of the Opposition to keep asking those
questions.
The Secretary of State knows that my last question regarding this
issue was on the position of the People’s Republic of China.
Until recently, exports between Europe and China were in excess
of £400 billion a year, and there is no doubt that they will
suffer as a result of the extended time that it takes to travel
between China and Europe, but what beggars belief is China’s
utter silence in relation to what is going on—notably, given that
it has a military naval capacity in Djibouti.
The Secretary of State and I will disagree on the issue of Gaza.
If we had secured a real vote last week, we would probably have
seen that recorded formally in the House. Gerald M. Feierstein,
the former US diplomat, has said that
“the Houthis’ effort to insert themselves into the Gaza
conflict”
is aimed at
“strengthening their support base in the country and cementing
their movement more firmly in the… ‘axis of resistance’”.
I wonder whether, like me, the Secretary of State is concerned
that we are not only strengthening that axis of resistance but,
with illicit Chinese and Russian support, now broadening it in
the Red sea.
I thank the hon. Member for his—as he has described it—tentative
support. I have noted that the House has been largely unified on
this issue during the past four statements, following previous
attacks. He asks about the mission creep situation. I hope he
feels reassured by the concept that we have waited longer, in
part because the Houthis’ capabilities have been damaged, so that
there is a longer gap and we do not see this thing speeding up.
We have no intention or desire to see it increase, but we will
act if there continue to be attacks on commercial and naval
shipping.
The hon. Member asks about China and Russia and I have to say
that I agree; it is important that countries that are impacted by
this—the entire world, but perhaps China in particular—do speak
up. We would welcome China being more vocal about the situation.
As I mentioned in my comments, a Chinese vessel has been
attacked, so this is of direct concern to the country. I call on
China and, of course, Russia—for what it is worth—to be more
vocal on these issues.
Lastly, I just do not accept this Gaza-Houthi connection. I
remind the House that the Houthis were against Hamas until 2015,
and now they arrive on the scene and pretend to support them.
They are opportunist thugs taking advantage of the situation and
of people’s lives and misery—not just in Gaza but in Yemen—and
they should stop and desist immediately.
Sir (New Forest East) (Con)
The Secretary of State will recall that, in handling this topic
on 5 February, he strongly endorsed the suggestion that a lot of
this trouble in the middle east was linked to tactics to divert
from the war in Ukraine. Given that the route from what is
happening in Ukraine to what is happening in the middle east is
via Russia and Iran, is he satisfied that there is no
inconsistency between the tough line being taken by the Ministry
of Defence against the Houthis and the soft line being taken by
the Foreign Office against their Iranian sponsors?
I somewhat reject that characterisation. To be absolutely clear,
we are very much of the view that Iran is responsible; it funds,
trains and provides equipment to the Houthis and many other
Iranian-sponsored proxies in the region. It is also the case that
it has probably lost control of some of them. It is important
that we deliver those messages in many different ways to the
Iranians. I have seen the read-outs of the ways they have been
delivered, including directly, by the Foreign Secretary—and they
were anything but weak.
(Halton) (Lab)
I put to the Secretary of State a similar question to the one
that I put to the Prime Minister on 23 January: of course we want
a diplomatic solution—any ramping up of a military solution has
its consequences—but for how many more months are the Secretary
of State and the Government going to allow this to continue? Do
the Government and the allies have a plan B?
Of course, the whole world is working on the overall context of
the middle east. I know the hon. Gentleman will have seen the
reports over the weekend about the discussions taking place in
relation to the hostages. We want a comprehensive settlement; the
Government’s policy is, of course, a two-state solution. The
middle east could be normalised in many ways, including through
Saudi normalisation with Israel, as part of that broader package;
the Government are working proactively on this. As I said, I am
conscious that we should not link these thuggish pirates—
indicated dissent.
I am not saying the hon. Gentleman does that, but I am keen that
we do not see the two issues as inextricably linked. I accept
that the hon. Gentleman is not trying to do that. We are working
very hard on the wider solution.
(Bournemouth East) (Con)
I welcome this statement and the Defence Secretary’s leadership.
It is clear that the Houthi threat may last months, and it is
right that Britain plays our role in protecting international
shipping, but Typhoons are tasked from Cyprus only because our
surface fleet cannot hit targets at range on land. I know the
Defence Secretary is looking at a new vertical launch system to
rectify that, but does he agree that an urgent operational
requirement to introduce guided multiple launch rocket systems
with the new precision-strike missile would allow our Royal Navy,
already tasked to the Red sea, to help eliminate the Houthi
threat?
There are always good reasons to introduce new capabilities. In
fact, I was recently down on HMS Somerset at Devonport, where a
system is being fitted and trialled. It is not the case, as it is
sometimes characterised, that we are using Typhoons because we do
not have another option; our first preference is to work in this
way for a range of reasons that I cannot enter into at the
Dispatch Box. It is worth noting that when the US carried out
actions in Iraq and Syria, its planes flew all the way from the
United States, and I am not aware of anybody saying that that was
because it did not have facilities closer to hand. We are using
the correct facilities for the particular operation,
notwithstanding the fact that it is always nice to have new
facilities.
(North Durham) (Lab)
I agree with the Secretary of State that we must always think
about our servicemen and women who carry out these tasks. As a
former Defence Minister, it is news to me that it is up to the
Defence Secretary to agree to any strikes, but perhaps this
Defence Secretary has more power than his predecessors.
What is the policy and strategy behind this set of circumstances?
I and a number of other Defence Committee members met the Defence
Minister of Italy a few weeks ago in Rome. Italy is deploying to
the region. How is it that this is now a US and UK-led operation?
What are we doing to build alliances with Italy and other
European nations that have an interest in doing so? As my hon.
Friend the Member for Halton () asked, what ultimately is plan
B and the long-term endgame?
I will avoid getting into the constitutional position of how that
authority runs. It would be inconceivable to do that without the
Prime Minister, but it is technically the case that the royal
prerogative runs to the Defence Secretary, for what it is
worth.
I am very familiar with my friend Minister Crosetto, whom the
right hon. Gentleman met in Rome. The Italians have, as he knows,
opted to join Aspides, the EU operation. We will work closely
with our European friends and allies to ensure that that
interacts properly with the wider Prosperity Guardian and the
direct actions that we are taking. Of course, we welcome action
from other friends and allies in that regard.
(Lichfield) (Con)
I was very interested to hear the Secretary of State say that it
is just the United Kingdom and the United States doing the
interdiction to ensure that there is no rearmament of the
Houthis, but what assessment has he made of the sources of that
rearmament? What percentage does he think comes from Iran,
through Syria, or through other agents?
We are pretty certain that it all originates in
Iran—[Interruption.] Actually, I have just been informed by my
Parliamentary Private Secretary that actually there was also a
French interdiction of some weapons in 2023, so let me put that
correction on the record. To answer the question, I believe that
it all originates from Iran. Which routes it takes in is another
matter, but much of it comes ultimately by sea, and we continue
to work proactively to ensure that we prevent those shipments
whenever we can.
(Exeter) (Lab)
Will the Secretary of State answer the question asked by the
shadow Defence Secretary, which he avoided earlier: now that this
appears to be sustained operation, might a vote in this House be
appropriate?
We will continue to gauge the view of the House on these matters.
I have noted that each party’s representative has—from
tentatively to fully—supported these measured responses. If the
rapidity or severity of the attacks increased, for example, my
judgment at the moment would be that it is possible to read the
mood of the House, but we will keep that under review and ensure
that we continually come back to the House to provide defence
intelligence briefings to Members who require them.
(Chelmsford) (Con)
According to a survey released by the British Chambers of
Commerce, over half of British retailers and exporters have been
impacted by the disruption in the Red sea, which is causing
logistics delays, pushing up costs, and risking higher prices and
fewer choices in British shops and elsewhere. Can my right hon.
Friend confirm that our military action is consistent with the
UK’s overarching aim of de-escalating tensions and restoring
stability in the Red sea?
Yes, I can absolutely provide that reassurance. My right hon.
Friend is absolutely right to point out that the situation is
already having a cost for British consumers. As I mentioned in my
comments, globally about 80% of goods move by sea; for the United
Kingdom, it is about 90%, given that we are an island. It is very
important therefore to show, both for the purposes of deterrence
and to weaken the Houthis’ ability to attack shipping, that we
mean business when we say that this cannot carry on.
(Poplar and Limehouse)
(Lab)
After four separate strikes in seven weeks, this appears to be a
prolonged military campaign, so I ask the Minister again, as I
did on 5 February: what is the long-term strategy, and how does
this relate to the ongoing precarious situation in Yemen itself?
If the Government’s plan is to sustain military action, will he
speak to the Prime Minister to ensure that Parliament accordingly
has a vote or a say, which is only right?
I hope the hon. Lady will join me in welcoming action against the
Houthis, who have attacked a ship that—as I mentioned—has
provided aid to the people of Yemen on multiple occasions. I know
that she does not make this mistake, but some people think that
the Houthis are somehow the Yemeni authorities. They are not;
they are not the Government. They are destroying that country
through their actions, and are actually preventing aid from
getting to the people of Yemen, so it is absolutely right that we
take this action.
To assure the hon. Lady, the previous three attacks were seven
days apart or so; it has been a longer period this time. We have
been able to wait longer, perhaps because the Houthis have fewer
options to attack shipping, but I stress that we will continue if
they carry on attacking shipping. The simplest thing for all of
us to do is to send a clear, united message to the Houthis that
they must stop attacking innocent shipping.
(Halesowen and Rowley Regis)
(Con)
The Secretary of State is absolutely right to say that military
action is necessary but not sufficient to deal with the long-term
problem of the Houthis. He has mentioned the necessity of
tackling financing and the illegal shipping of weapons, but
global shipping is peculiarly vulnerable to cyber-attack. What is
the Secretary of State doing to ensure that the UK’s
cyber-capabilities are shared with our international partners to
protect our global shipping interests?
There are essentially two forms of warfare that my hon. Friend is
pointing to: one is direct cyber-attack and the other is the use
of electronic warfare to cause particular outcomes. I am afraid
that we have seen a lot of that, particularly in the theatre in
Ukraine, and we are very conscious of the way it is being used in
the Red sea region as well. We will continue to do all we can to
help through the Prosperity Guardian element of this operation,
and to make sure that we are a step ahead of those who would,
through preference, destroy the ability for world trade and good
passage through open seas to take place.
(East Antrim) (DUP)
I assure the Minister that he has the full—not tentative—support
of DUP Members for the actions he has taken, because as he has
pointed out, what is happening will affect businesses and
consumers in the UK through inflation and the inability to get
supplies. However, those effects are not limited to the UK;
almost every European nation relies on those shipping lanes being
kept open. Why is it that we are doing the heavy lifting when it
comes to attacking the Houthis, and other nations are not joining
in?
First, I am very grateful for the support of the right hon.
Gentleman’s party. Secondly, two factors have to be in play in
order to take action: the will to do it and the capability to do
it. Quite a large number of nations are involved, either through
Prosperity Guardian or direct support for the military action,
which includes intelligence officers and other means of
assistance—we are receiving support from a whole range of people.
We now also have Operation Aspides, which the Europeans are
launching. We look forward to seeing what they bring to this
action, but I stress that it is our capability and willingness
combined that means that the United Kingdom is able and willing
to act when perhaps others are not.
Sir (Northampton North) (Con)
Has my right hon. Friend the Defence Secretary considered
engaging with the currently unrecognised country of Somaliland? I
visited it recently, as the Register of Members’ Financial
Interests will show. As it has a border with the gulf of Aden,
its port at Berbera might be useful to His Majesty’s
Government.
I know that my right hon. and learned Friend is a big fan of
Somaliland. I have visited it myself in the past, and I know that
in a difficult environment, they do a very good
job—administratively and otherwise —of trying to run their
Government. I will take his comments away and confer with the
Foreign Secretary.
(Glasgow Central)
(SNP)
I appreciate that the Secretary of State has come to the House on
several occasions to give an update on this situation, and that
further actions continue to be taken to avoid the Houthis
disrupting Red sea shipping. The difficulty is that they appear
not to be deterred by what the Government are throwing at them,
following on from many years of being undeterred by attacks on
them from the Saudi Government. In fact, they are using this as
part of their propaganda machine against the west. So can I ask
the Secretary of State: how does he see this ending?
I would say two things to the hon. Lady. First, as I have tried
to stress before, I do think that this operation is having an
impact. We have seen longer periods between attacks, and we have
seen the Houthis’ abilities attrited, so they have fewer
capabilities. That is certainly the case.
The second thing I would say—perhaps I should have said it
sooner—in answer to what might bring this to an end is that the
Houthis do want to get the peace deal they have in place with the
Saudis ratified by the United Nations, which clearly will not
ratify a peace deal between the two parties until they stop
shooting at international shipping. I do think that there is an
endgame in the Saudi-Houthi peace deal being signed off by the
United Nations, but the onus remains on the Houthis to stop
shooting at international shipping and disrupting its flow before
they can get that and, indeed, the financial improvement to their
own situation that will come from the deal being signed.
(Rother Valley)
(Con)
Al-Jazeera has reported that, according to its numbers, 37,000
Houthis have been recruited since the start of the airstrikes,
and they are using the airstrikes as a recruiting tool.
Al-Jazeera believes that this is for a push on Ma’rib, which is
full of natural resources. As we know, Ma’rib became a world
heritage site in 2023. It is home to the ancient kingdom of
Sheba, or Saba’, and also of the famous dam, which is mentioned
in the Koran. What steps are the Government taking to make sure
that that world heritage site is protected, and if the Houthis
were to move into that area, would they step in to stop them
destroying these essential historical and religious sites?
My hon. Friend raises a very important point, and if he does not
mind, I will confer with my right hon. Friend the Foreign
Secretary on this issue. On the membership point, the Houthis are
made up of a ragtag of people who are often quite desperate and
those who are led into a particular way of life with the Houthis.
We want to dismantle that, and the best way to do it is through
the peace deal that has been agreed, but that cannot be enacted
by the UN until they stop firing on commercial shipping. We would
like to see that situation unwound. I will take his other point
away and come back to him.
(Glasgow North) (SNP)
On 6 February —20 days ago—I tabled written question 13372,
asking
“for what reason Israeli military planes have used UK airports on
each occasion since 7 October 2023.”
That may or may not be relevant to this statement, but I do not
know, because I have not yet received an answer. Can the
Secretary of State either answer the question now, or tell me
when I will receive a written answer?
I will certainly look into that for the hon. Member, but I would
have thought that Israel uses UK airports for the purposes of
flying El Al and other airlines to this country.
(Buckingham) (Con)
I welcome my right hon. Friend’s statement, and I support the
necessary actions of self-defence to secure freedom of navigation
in the Red sea. However, to keep the whole country on the same
page and to understand the importance of this, I note that while
the purpose of the actions is first and foremost to protect the
people—the seafarers and the military personnel—on those vessels,
the economic impact globally is huge, as has been referenced.
Businesses are reporting to me a threefold or fourfold increase
in shipping costs, which of course we will all pay for at the
tills. In conjunction with the Treasury and the Department for
Business and Trade, has my right hon. Friend made an assessment
of the magnitude of the figure that the challenge to freedom of
navigation in the Red sea is causing to our economy and the
global economy?
My hon. Friend is absolutely right that this has a cost not just
to business or industry, but to households in this country. It
will come straight through to the bill for the weekly shop, which
is why it is so important that we do not allow these attacks to
go unchallenged and that we make sure we degrade the ability for
them take place. He asked about the ongoing assessments by the
Department for Business and Trade and the Treasury, and provided
some data from his own knowledge about the increased shipping
costs. Shipping is typically not an enormous part of the cost of
each individual item people buy in the supermarket, but of course
over a period time, that will have a negative impact, which is
why it is important to make it clear that freedom of navigation
is sacrosanct and that we will always take action if it is
affected in any way, shape or form.
(Strangford) (DUP)
I thank the Secretary of State for his statement. I very much
support what he is doing and his strength of character and
purpose, and as my right hon. Friend the Member for East Antrim
() said, we are very much on the
same page. With joint strikes with our allies ongoing, it is
clear that support for the Houthis is still making its way from
the axis of evil to enable them to carry on with persistent
threats and attacks. The Houthis continue their attacks, so what
discussions have taken place with our allies to ascertain what
the next steps to secure the route will be? How quickly can those
steps be taken to secure the sea routes and trade for all
countries across the world?
Again, I thank the hon. Gentleman for his party’s support on
this. He will be interested to hear that I had extensive
discussions last week both at NATO in Brussels and at the Munich
security conference on exactly the issues he has raised. A broad
range of international discussion is going on, and we all want to
see the Houthis stop and to have a wider settlement with Saudi.
There is no excuse that is plausible for the action being taken,
and common sense would say that China, and even Russia, would be
piling on the pressure to do that. We will carry on working
internationally with our partners, and with those in the P5, to
try to ensure that happens.
On a point of order, Mr Speaker. The written question I referred
to was about Israeli military aircraft—I think the Secretary of
State might have misunderstood, or I might not have spoken
clearly. I would appreciate an answer to that written question as
soon as he can give it.
Mr Speaker
Secretary of State?
I shall ensure that that answer is forthcoming.
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