Third warship, HMS Richmond, on the way to Red Sea after US and UK airstrikes, minister tells LBC
12 January 2024, 10:15
Nick Ferrari is joined by James Heappey saying the UK is sending an extra warships
A third warship is on its way to the Red Sea, the armed forces minister has told LBC.
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Speaking to LBC's Nick Ferrari at Breakfast, Armed Forces Minister James Heappey said HMS Richmond was en route to help support Lancaster and Diamond - which are already in the region in a bid to keep peace.
It comes after US and UK forces carried out targeted strikes on Houthi targets in the early hours of the morning.
Dozens of attacks have taken place on ships in the Red Sea by the rebels - which are linked with Hamas - since the October 7 attacks in Israel.
Rebel drones were successfully repelled from an attack on UK and US ships earlier this week.
Mr Heappey told LBC the overnight strikes "were an act of self-defence".
He said: "When the Houthis attack our war ships, we must respond in self defence to make sure that they can continue to safely deliver their mission to protect global shipping."
LBC understands that the third ship is being dispatched to support, help resupply and refuel the other two ships, and all three may not stay in the region.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said the Royal Air Force carried out targeted strikes against military facilities used by the Houthis after the militants carried out a series of dangerous attacks on shipping.
"This cannot stand," he said, adding the UK took "limited, necessary and proportionate action in self-defence, alongside the United States with non-operational support from the Netherlands, Canada and Bahrain against targets tied to these attacks, to degrade Houthi military capabilities and protect global shipping."
The coordinated military assault comes just a week after the White House and a host of partner nations issued a final warning to the Houthis to cease the campaign of drone and missile attacks on commercial ships, which has been in progress since the start of the Israel-Hamas war, or face potential military action.
The warning appeared to have had at least some short-lived impact, as attacks stopped for several days.
A high-ranking Houthi official, Ali al-Qahoum, vowed there would be retaliation.
"The battle will be bigger... and beyond the imagination and expectation of the Americans and the British," he said in a post on X, formerly Twitter.
Al-Masirah, a Houthi-run satellite news channel, described strikes hitting the Al-Dailami Air Base north of Sanaa, the airport in the port city of the Hodeida, a camp east of Saada, the airport in the city of Taiz and an airport near Hajjah.
The Houthis did not immediately offer any damage or casualty information.
On Tuesday, the Houthi rebels fired their largest barrage of drones and missiles targeting shipping in the Red Sea, with US and British ships and American fighter jets responding by shooting down 18 drones, two cruise missiles and an anti-ship missile.
On Thursday, the Houthis fired an anti-ship ballistic missile into the Gulf of Aden, which was seen by a commercial ship but did not hit it.
Transit through the Red Sea, from the Suez Canal to the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, is a crucial shipping lane for global commerce.
About 12% of the world's trade typically passes through the waterway that separates Africa and the Arabian Peninsula, including oil, natural gas, grain and everything from toys to electronics.
