 a rheswm yn gweithio gwlad y dyswpeth. Aelodau cymryd yn cael ei gwagorol arweithio cael ei gwlad, a chyfnodau a'r tancau yn ardal yn gweithio gydag 5,000 myl ysgol ar y cael y Gwydhau. Mae'n ddysgu'r prysau i'r prysau i'r pasodd ychydig a'r gwydd, ymgyrch yn meddwl, ysgol yna chi'r pethau a'r hyn yn cael ei gael. Rwy'n meddwl i'r gweithio ddim yn gwneud hynny. Cwairnwys, oherwydd unrhyw ymgyrch o amser a'r myfyddiadau sy'n ei wneud hynny i gyllid gyda'ch gyntaf gwaith東西iaid. Oeddoedd ygold y Llyfridog Llanwrs i gwneud mor oesiaidiau i ddylen o'rโfodiol, ac yn ymweld oedd y Ffyddion sydd yn gallu cychwyn cryf... ... unrhyw o ffyddwyr, ac yn rhoi maschaf o ffyddwyr. Hyddiwch, ymgylch yn sicr o'r peth. The UK helps to feed around 100,000 Yemenis every month, with aid arriving via the very sea routes that the Houthis have in their sites. So, Mr Speaker, the threats to shipping must cease. Illegally detained vessels and crews must be released, and we remain prepared to back our words with actions. But, Mr Speaker, dealing with this threat does not detrack from our other international commitments. Rather, it strengthens our determination to uphold fundamental UN principles. If our adversaries think that they can distract us from helping Ukraine by threatening international security elsewhere, they could not be more wrong. On Friday I travelled to Kyve to meet President Zelensky and addressed the Ukrainian Parliament. I took a message from this House to the Rada that we will stand with Ukraine today, tomorrow, and for as long as it takes. If Putin wins in Ukraine, he won't stop there, and other malign actors will be emboldened. That's why Ukraine's security is our security. That's why the UK will stay the course. And it's why I'm confident that our partners share our resolve. So far from our resolve faltering, our military support to Ukraine will increase this year. We will provide the single biggest package of defence aid to Ukraine since the war began, worth £2.5 billion. This will include more air defence equipment, more anti-tank weapons, more long-range missiles, thousands more rounds of ammunition and artillery shells, training for thousands more Ukrainian servicemen and women, and the single largest package of advanced drones given to Ukraine by any nation. All of this is on top of what we have already provided to support Ukraine. In total, since the war began, the United Kingdom will have provided almost £12 billion of aid to Ukraine. We were the first to train Ukrainian troops, first in Europe to provide lethal weapons, first to commit main battle tanks, first to provide long-range missiles, and now we are the first to keep the promise made at the last year's NATO summit alongside 30 other countries to provide new bilateral security commitments. Mr Speaker, Ukraine's rightful place is in NATO, and NATO will be stronger with Ukraine in it. But these commitments will help bridge the gap until that day comes. Under the new agreement that we signed with President Zelensky, we are building Ukraine's military capabilities, and if Russia ever invades Ukraine again, we will provide swift and sustained assistance, including modern equipment, across land, air and sea, together with our allies that UK will be there from the first moment until the last. For all of this, I bring a message of thanks from President Zelensky to the British people, and today I hope that this House will join me in sending a message back to the Ukrainian people that we stand together as one in support of these firm commitments. We are building a new partnership with Ukraine, designed to last 100 years or more. Yes, it's about defence and security, but it's also about trade, investment, culture, and more. And there could be no more powerful sign of our unique bond than Ukraine's decision to adopt English as the language of business and diplomacy. And so through the British Council we're going to fund English language training for the Ukrainian people. So, Mr Speaker, in dangerous times we are investing in defence, hardening our critical infrastructure, building our alliances, and we are resolute in our principles. International security, the rule of law, and freedom to determine your own future. An attack on those principles is an attack on everything that we believe in and on which our lives and livelihoods depend. As the home of parliamentary democracy and a leader in collective security, it is our responsibility to defend those principles and to defend our people. That is who we are. That is what Britain does and will always do, and I commend this statement to the House. Y Llywodraeth Cymru yn ymgyrchu'r cystafol! Thank you, Mr Speaker, and can I thank the Prime Minister for the secure briefing last week and for advanced copy of his statement. Mr Speaker, let me reiterate that Labour backs this targeted action to reinforce maritime security in the Red Sea. We strongly condemn the Houthi attacks that are targeting commercial ships of all nationalities, putting civilians of military personnel in serious danger, including British forces. The Houthi attacks are unacceptable, illegal and, if left unaddressed, could lead to a devastating rise in the cost of essential food in some of the poorest countries. The international community clearly stands against the Houthi attacks. Alongside the UK and the US, four other countries were involved in non-operational support. Over a dozen nations are part of the maritime protection force in the Red Sea, and many others support the recent UN Security Council resolution, which condemns the Houthi attacks in the strongest possible terms. The UK strikes were limited, targeted and did everything possible to protect civilian lives. That is a proportionate response. Mr Speaker, a military action must, of course, always be underpinned by a clear strategy. It is the role of this House to ask the right questions. I ask the Prime Minister what confidence does he have that his stated objectives have been met, what process will he follow in the face of continued Houthi attacks, what efforts are underway to maintain the support of the international community? Can he confirm that he stands by the parliamentary convention that, where possible, military interventions by the UK Government, particularly if they are part of a sustained campaign, should be brought before this House? Scrutiny is not the enemy of strategy. Because, while we backed the action taken last week, these strikes still do bring risk, we must avoid escalation across the Middle East. Can the Prime Minister also tell us how the UK will work with international partners so that our rightful actions are not used as an excuse by those who seek to expand violence throughout the wider region, or indeed we animate the conflict in Yemen itself? Nonetheless, our armed forces across the region are showing the highest professionalism and bravery, both in defending commercial shipping and this targeted action. We thank them. We are proud of them. They continue to show that Britain is a force for good. As does the UK's unwavering unity in support of Ukraine and against Russian aggression. On these bensys, we have backed all military support, so again we backed the Prime Minister's announcement of £2.5 billion for Ukraine next year. We strongly support the agreement on security cooperation. This will give Ukraine vital confidence to plan for the year ahead. I hope it becomes a template for other allies to follow and that Ukraine in time will become a full member of NATO. Because, Mr Speaker, to those listening in Kiev, Moscow or elsewhere in the world, let me be clear, whoever is in government in Britain, the UK will stand with Ukraine for as long as it takes. Returning to the Middle East, it is now over 100 days since the brutal events of October 7. Israel's right to self-defence is fundamental, as is its duty to comply with international law. The longer this conflict in Gaza rages, the more the risk of escalation throughout the entire region. On the Israel-Lebanon border, we must urge constraint. We must make it crystal clear to all parties that the UK does not support this conflict extending further in Lebanon. While within Israel and Palestine, in the West Bank, settler violence must stop immediately. In Gaza we need a humanitarian truce now, not as a short pause, but as the first step on a road away from violence. The need for a sustainable ceasefire is clear, to stop the killing of innocent civilians, to create the space for the return of all the hostages and to provide urgent humanitarian relief to protect against disease and ward off a devastating famine. From that first step, we can begin a bigger push towards peace, a permanent end to the fighting, and a lasting political solution. The hope of the two-state solution is fragile, but it is still there, and we must fight for it, just as we must also remain resolute in the face of aggression which threatens global security, whether that is in Europe or the Red Sea. Can I thank the right hon. Gentleman for his support of the action that we have taken? He is absolutely right to highlight the international coalition that, over recent weeks, has called out the Houthies behaviour, culminating in the UN Security Council resolution, strongly condemning the attacks that she rightly referenced. In our state today, it was to degrade and disrupt the Houthies' capability to launch attacks like this on civilian shipping, as I indicated, our initial assessment that those strikes that we conducted have been successful in the specific targets that were selected during the strikes. Obviously, that is an initial assessment, but that remains our case at the moment. More generally, what we want to see is a reduction of tensions in the region and a restoration of stability. That is our state today. It is incumbent on the Houthies not to escalate this and continue with what are illegal and unprovoked attacks on civilian shipping, putting innocent lives at risk and damaging the global economy and the prices that British citizens and others will pay for their everyday goods, as the right hon. Gentleman rightly pointed out. I can assure him that it was necessary to strike at speed as he acknowledged to protect the security of these operations. That is in accordance with the Convention, and I remain committed to that Convention and would always look to follow appropriate processes and procedures and also act in line with precedent where he will know that there have been strikes in 2015 and 2018 where a similar process as to this was followed. I can also provide him with the assurances he rightly asked about our international engagement, because there will be malign forces out there that seek to distort our action to turn it into something that is not and is important that we engage with our allies and those others in the region so that they understand what we did and why. I can provide him with the assurance that we have done that and will continue to do that, because it is important that there is no linkage between these actions and anything else that is happening. This is purely and simply to respond in self-defence to illegal attacks by the Houthies on commercial shipping. I also welcome his support for the announcements we made with regard to Ukraine. He is again right to point out the importance of the security commitments that we have signed. Thirty countries at the Vilnius summit promised to do so, and again this House should be proud that it is again the United Kingdom leading by being the first country to sign such a commitment, which I now believe will serve as a template for others to follow. I can tell him the enormous appreciation in Ukraine for the UK to do that so that there is a long-term uncertainty for the Ukrainian people of our support and providing further deterrence to Russia and others against future aggression. Perhaps in conclusion, the confluence of these two events over the same 24 hours serves to highlight the increasing threats that we face as a country. The global environment is becoming more challenging, more unstable, and it is incumbent on us to respond to those challenges with increased investment in defence as we are doing, strengthening our alliances, because ultimately we must defend the principles of international law of freedom and democracy, freedom of navigation that we all hold dear, and this government will always stand ready to do that and to protect the British people. Sir Julian Lewis. The Prime Minister was clearly absolutely justified to respond as he did particularly after the direct attack against HMS Diamond, but given that at the time of the Falklands campaign we had 35 frigates and destroyers and were spending 4.5% of GDP on defence, whereas both those figures can be cut in half to describe our situation today, does he agree with me that we certainly should not be reducing the numbers of frigates or destroyers and we certainly should not be mothballing or otherwise decommissioning our amphibious assault ships? I am happy to reassure my noble friend that our intention is to increase defence spending from where it currently is up to 2.5% when the circumstances allow. It is worth reminding the House that we have consistently, over the past decade, been the second largest spender on defence in NATO, larger than 20 other countries combined, and our plans will continue to provide that leadership. Within that there is a very strong equipment plan underpinned by the £24 billion extra that the NOV received in its most recent settlement, which for the Royal Navy does include Type 26, Type 31 and Type 32 frigates, and with regard to the specific vessels that he talked about, the Defence Secretary has asked the First Seal or to plan how the Royal Marine's excellent work can be taken forward so that they have the capabilities that they need to continue their work and to be able to be deployed globally, and when that process concludes, of course, the Defence Secretary will update the House. SMP leader Stephen Plitt. Thank you, Mr Speaker. I'd like to begin by echoing the Prime Minister's sentiments in relation to Ukraine. All of us on these benches remain firmly united behind their struggle against Vladimir Putin's Russia. So what does Scott wrote that in war both sides lose and not quite sure he'd factored into the equation, the likes of the Houthis? Because they are, of course, the fundamentalists and unperturbed by the bombing that they have been on the receiving end of Saudi Arabia for many years, the perceived wisdom would suggest that they are perhaps not just content but maybe even quite happy to be on the receiving end of American bombs. And it is in that context that that poses an enormous question for all of us in this House as to what comes next. If, as has been suggested through their actions over the course of the last 12 hours or so, the message which we sought to send has not been received, then what do we intend to do? What is the plan? What is the Prime Minister's strategy? Will he come to the dispatch box? And unlike its predecessors in relation to Middle East conflicts in Iraq, in Afghanistan and Syria, lay out when and how far he is willing to go in relation to military action? Because quite clearly we need to understand his government's strategy in this conflict, because we cannot have an escalation which leads to further regional instability. Of course, whilst we would all agree quite rightly that we should not fall for the Houthis narratives that this is directly related to the conflict in Israel in Gaza, we cannot escape from the fact that a ceasefire in Gaza is essential for that wider regional stability. Finally, Mr Speaker, whilst the Prime Minister has sought to defend his decision not to come to the House last week, it is quite clear that this House should have been recalled. It is what the public would have expected, and I would urge him to do better in the future. Mr Speaker, can I thank the hon. Gentleman for his comments about Ukraine and support for our approach? With regard to the future, obviously we will not speculate on future action. What we conducted was intended as a single limited action, and of course we hope that the Houthis will now step back and end their reckless and destabilising attacks. Of course we will not hesitate to protect our security and our interests where required, and we would of course follow the correct procedures, as I believe we did so in this case. Although the hon. Gentleman is right to ask questions, we should also recognise the risks of inaction. Doing nothing with absolutely weakened international security and the rule of law would further damage the freedom of navigation and the global economy, and perhaps most importantly it would send a very dangerous message that British vessels and British interests are fair game, and that is simply unacceptable. Last, if I might say, and of course I'm happy to answer questions about the situation in Israel and Gaza, but this House should be very clear in making it clear to the outside world that there is no linkage between what we have done last week and the situation in Israel-Gaza. This was a specific action in self-defence against the Houthis who are conducting illegal strikes against innocent civilian shipping, and that has nothing to do with what is going on in Israel-Gaza, and we must never let anyone think that this House believes that there is. Richard Drax. Thank you very much, Mr Speaker. Can I commend my right hon. Friend the Defence Secretary for his excellent and wide-raging speech this morning? He rightly pointed out that we face dangerous times, and can I ask my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister that, while it is important how we spend defence money, it is vital, and without doubt, that defence needs a lot more money, more than 2.5% of these arbitrary targets, if our brave men and women are going to fight a sustained conflict in the years ahead. I agree that the Defence Secretary did make an excellent speech earlier, and, in that speech, he highlighted, as I did, that defence spending has consistently met our NATO obligation. We have been the second largest defence spender in NATO, and in the last supplement, defence received the largest increase of £24 billion since the end of the Cold War, because, my hon. Friend is right, the threats that we face are increasing. It is right that we invest to protect the British people against those threats, and that is exactly what this Government are doing, and we will continue to do so. While not having a vote in this House is regrettable, Liberal Democrats support limited strikes against the Hutties to open international shipping lanes, but we cannot lose sight of the fact that this region is a tinderbox. Attacks on US soldiers in Syria and Iraq, the terrorism of Lamich state in Iran, the rockets of Hezbollah, the Israeli drone strikes in Beirut, all stemming from the horrifying conflict in Israel and Gaza. So can the Prime Minister set out what conversations he has had with our NATO and European allies, but also leaders of Gulf countries, to ensure that these limited strikes remain limited? Of course, as I said, we are extensively engaging with our international partners, including our Gulf allies I recently spoke to the President of Egypt just last week, and we will continue to do so. Again, I say this, it is important that no one takes away that this House believes on any side that there is a linkage between direct action and self-defence against the Hutties and the situation in Israel-Gaza. They are entirely distinct. We will do everything we can to bring more aid into Gaza to make sure that we work hard for a sustainable ceasefire, and that is separate to our ability and necessary duty to defend our interests and our people. Thank you, Mr Speaker. Can I commend the Prime Minister for his firm and principled response to events in the Red Sea? But with their support for Hamas, Hezbollah and the Hutties, is it not clear that Iran will do anything to stop lasting peace between Arab states and Israel because the Iranian regime believes that Israel should not exist at all? It is not a real defeat for Iran to see them isolated by a meaningful resolution of the Palestinian issue, the supercharging of the Abraham Accords process to bring peace and stability to the region all underpinned by international resolve to confront Iran's proxies wherever they threaten our interests and our values. Can I thank my hon. Friend for his excellent remarks, but also for the work that he does on the Abraham Accords, which has done much to bring more peace and stability to the region? He is right that the behaviour of the Iranian regime poses a significant threat to the safety and security of the UK and our allies and ensures regional instability where we want to see more peace and stability. I can assure him that we are keeping abreast of all the risks in the area, and that is why the Royal Navy last year and the year before continues, for example, to interdict illegal arm smuggling by the Iranians to the Hutties, and we will continue to keep in close contact with our allies to take all the measures that we can to protect our people and ensure that the Iranians' destabilising influence in the region is reduced to the best extent possible. Thank you, Mr Speaker. I thank the Prime Minister for his statement. He has been absolutely crystal clear in the need to degrade the capabilities of this terrorist organisation, the Hutties, that are causing havoc in the Red Sea. He will also know that Yemen is one of the poorest countries of the world suffering a mass humanitarian crisis with over 21 million people in need of humanitarian need and support. Can I ask the Prime Minister what will he do to ensure that they are not engulfed all over again, particularly the civilians of Yemen, in a mass humanitarian catastrophe? Can I thank my right hon. Friend for raising an incredibly important point and reassure her in the House that she will know this from her own experience, that we are steadfast in our support to the Yemeni people as one of the largest owners of lifetowns, and that will help to providing food for at least 100,000 people every month and deliver life-saving healthcare through 400 facilities. The Yemeni people are suffering and we're doing everything we can to alleviate that suffering. Thank you, Mr Speaker. Earlier this century, with the threat of access to the Suez canal from Somali policy, the international community united with a widely based task force to successfully suppress it. Now they use it as threatening that the lives of seafarers and international navigation trade and the jobs that depend on it will also seek to work to get the widest possible international task force to deal with this. Will he also support the people of South Yemen who want nothing to do with these terrorists? The hon. Gentleman is right about the necessity of building international coalitions. I'm pleased to say that it's happening, Operation Prosperity Guardian, which we are proud to be a partner of, is upholding freedom of navigation in the region. As has been mentioned as well, the UN Security Council resolution that was passed on 10 January I think is instructive in this sense. It very strongly condemns, as it condemns in the strongest terms, the Houthi attacks, demands that they immediately cease all attacks and notes the right of Member States to act in accordance with international law to defend their vessels. He will also have seen the statement published by around a dozen of our allies before and after the strikes, and that will hopefully reassure him that there is broad international support for what we are doing and cause on the Houthis to desist what they are doing. I represent a constituency with a proud maritime tradition, and families are anxious for commercial shipping staff whose jobs taken through the Red Sea. A scramble towards military action is endangering UK seafarers in the Red Sea. Maritime unions are calling for not just more protection, but they stress the need for co-ordinated diplomatic efforts to resolve the crisis. After today's attack on a ship, can he explain to seafarers how dropping bombs will lead to a de-escalation of a situation which is already endangering their safety? I was quite extraordinary. It is Houthi rockets that are endangering the lives of those who have seen parents in the region. As you have seen from shipping companies, we have welcomed the action that we have taken because they are keen to see security and stability restored to the region, and that is what we are aiming to do. To disrupt and destabilise the Houthis' ability and to degrade their ability to carry out these attacks and restore stability to the region, that is very much the focus of our attention. We are acting in self-defence to protect the lives of seafarers, not endangering them, and she would do well to call out the Houthis to stop what they are doing. Would my right hon. Friend agree that the international law case for the action his Government has taken in the Red Sea was, unusually in my experience, relatively straight forward, but would he also agree that the next significant challenge is to maintain and enhance a multinational consensus in deterring and combating more of these attacks if they occur? Would he accept that acting in compliance with and respectful of international law assists us in that task? I thank my right hon. Friend for his question, and he is right, and hopefully he would have seen the published legal summary of our advice on this issue. This was proportionate and necessary action taken lawfully to respond to attacks by the Houthis, and they were the only feasible means to do so, and the UK is, as he knows, permitted under international law to use force in such circumstances. It is right that we have to regard for the legal advice in such situations, and I can reassure him that we will continue to always have regard to it. While we are fighting to protect international law, it is important that we also follow it ourselves. I am Simon Beggel. 71% of the British public want to ceasefire in Israel Gaza. That is according to a latest UGF poll taken just last month, yet last week the Government launched airstrikes in the Red Sea in escalation of the situation in the Middle East. I understand that the Government may not have been under any constitutional obligation to take a parliamentary vote on this particular military action, or indeed abide by a result of that vote, should it have even decided to take one. But does the Prime Minister believe that the Government has any duty towards the British public when making such decisions and to the parliamentary community who represent the British people in building any political support for this military action? Mr Speaker, the Leader of the Opposition made the point in his remarks, rightly, that we need to make sure that malign actors elsewhere would not try and distort what we have done for their own purposes. But I would gently say to the Honourable Lady to conflate and link our action against the Houthis with the situation in Israel Gaza just gives ammunition to our enemies who would seek to make things worse in the region. We have acted in self-defence. I have explained the reasons and the processes that we have followed and the accountability that I have to Parliament, which I am now here discharging. Separately, we will, of course, work very hard to bring humanitarian aid into Gaza and to try and bring about the sustainable ceasefire that we all, of course, want to see. I commend my right hon. Friend for prosecuting this military action. As a matter of law, it was highly necessary and clearly proportionate, and his legal position is watertight. Countries around the world depend on that route, but, as usual, it is the British and Americans who do something about protecting it. There are reports, however, this afternoon that more Houthi attacks are taking place. Will he take more military action if necessary? Mr Speaker, I thank the Hon. Gentleman and Hon. Gentleman for his support. Of course, he will understand that I will not speculate on future action. This was intended as limited single action, and we hope that the Houthis will now step back and end their destabilising attacks. But, of course, as I said earlier, we will not hesitate to protect our security, our people and our interests where required. If we do so, we will, of course, follow the correct procedures and precedent, as we did in this case. The Prime Minister is right that Ukraine needs military support, but it also needs to be rebuilt. Last year, the British Government, that is, opposed proposals that we should seize Russian state assets, 300 billion dollars worth, sitting in banks around the world, including in the UK, and use them to rebuild Ukraine. The Foreign Secretary, however, I note in December in the United States of America, said that he was now in arguing that we should be able to seize those assets. Shouldn't we legislate to make sure that Putin pays for the reconstruction of Ukraine? I am not entirely sure that I agree with the characterisation of the situation, by the hon. Gentleman. I agree that Russia must pay for the long-term reconstruction of Ukraine, and I have been clear about that. Actually, on the G7 leaders call at the end of last year, I was the one who raised this issue. As a result, we have collectively in the G7 tasked finance ministers to explore all lawful routes to ensure that Russian assets are made available for that purpose. We are working to identify all options for seizing those assets. We are doing it at pace and ensuring that those measures would be safe, robust and compliant with the international rule of law, and we are doing it in conjunction with our international allies, so I can give them all those reassurances. Again, it is the UK, together with the US, who has been leading that conversation in the G7. Jeremy Quinn Who did that on shipping a global problem? It is right that we acted alongside our partners. Where close allies did not participate in those airstrikes, we still need them to act and to act alongside us. Can we encourage them to redouble their efforts to interdict armsmuggling from Iran into Yemen, and therefore help to degrade further the military capacity of the Houthis? My right hon. Friend makes an excellent point, and we will continue to work with our allies. Hopefully, he will have seen the statement that was put out by around a dozen of our allies after the strikes, reiterating their support for what we have done, and he will know that there was non-operational support from a handful of other countries, together with a much larger coalition of nations that are involved in different ways in operation prosperity guardian, where other countries can play a part in interdicting Iranian shipments and bringing stability to the region and protecting international shipping. We, of course, want to work with them, and the Defence Secretary and the Foreign Secretary are having those conversations as we speak. Eir Blackford. Thank you, Mr Speaker. We live in most challenging times with instability in the Middle East, in Europe and indeed in Africa, and it's important that we have the right kind of leadership and response. We must make sure that our international shipping routes remain open. Can I ask the Prime Minister of his assessment of the degradation of the Houthis capabilities after the action last week? When it comes to Ukraine, we must stand united in this House, that the Russians must be defeated for the aggression that they've shown, and we should remain together, united in saying once again Slavia, Ukraine. Lastly, Mr Speaker, the Prime Minister talks about a sustainable settlement in Gaza. It is important that we recognise the scale of the humanitarian suffering. So can I ask the Prime Minister for an update of what we're doing to make sure that in Gaza that we deliver peace and security, and we have the hope of a better world as we come through 2024? Can I thank the Amara gentleman for his support of the action in Ukraine, and maybe I'll just touch on his last point, in fact, because I agree with him. We're of course concerned about the devastating impact of the conflict in Gaza on the civilian population. Too many people have lost their lives already, and there is a desperate need for increased humanitarian support into Gaza. I'm pleased that the UK is playing a leading role. We've tripled our aid. Recently, the Foreign Secretary appointed a humanitarian envoy into the region to address some of the blockages, and just recently we delivered our first maritime shipment of aid into Egypt, over 80 tonnes of new aid. When I spoke to Prime Minister Netanyahu, I'm pressed upon him obviously the importance of increasing the flow of trucks, but crucially if we can to open up extra crossings into Gaza so we can increase the flow of aid, we will continue to press on Israel to do that, so we can bring more relief to people who are suffering a great deal. Thank you, Mr Speaker, and thanks to the Prime Minister for a very clear statement. It is reported that the drones being used by the Houthis are being helped by Iran, and the American Enterprise Institute has reported that Russia has given $900 million to Iran for drones. Can the Prime Minister assure the house that we are doing everything we possibly can in this country to make sure that none of this money is going through the UK financial system? Go tell the Prime Minister that we agree with the US assessment that Iran has directly supplied and directly supported Houthi attacks in the Red Sea, providing intelligence especially to enable their targeting of vessels and providing them with missiles and UAVs. She's right that we should do everything we can to prevent that, and I can reassure her of course she'll know about the financial measures we've taken over the past two years to ensure things like transparency, beneficial ownership registers which allow us to crack down on economic crime and money laundering, but also physically the Royal Navy is involved in interdicting those shipments and has successfully done so last year and the year before and will continue to have a presence in the region so we can disrupt those illegal arms flows. Nick Smith, Mr Speaker, it's a critical time internationally but we have a staffing crisis in our Navy. So can we do more to boost recruitment of sailors with stem qualifications and when will we see our Navy back up to full strength? Prime Minister, Mr Speaker, I would say our Royal Navy is one of the top five in the world that's capable of operating in all of the world's oceans simultaneously and is one of only two countries to provide or there's been proven to operate fifth generation jets from the sea. So I think we should be confident and proud of our Royal Navy as I've talked about we're investing in more equipment and capability going into the future. He's right to highlight some of the recruitment challenges and the Defence Secretary highlighted these the other week but we are doubling down on all the initiatives we had to make sure that all our armed forces have the staff that they need and the personnel they need for the future but also that those personnel have the equipment and supplies they need in order to do their job effectively. Sorry, Mr Speaker. I fully support my right hon. Friend welcome his statement about the action he took on the Houthi and the other statement part of the statement about Ukraine. We must support Ukraine in their future but can I just bring back to the reality about the Houthi. Iran we know has supported, supplied and continues to direct the Houthi in their attacks. We know that Iran has supported and directed Hamas in their brutal attacks in October. We know that Iran has armed and directs Hezbollah on a regular basis and tells them what to do through the IRGC and all of that we understand but can I ask my right hon. Friend why it is we still are reluctant to prescribe the IRGC who are responsible for so much of the co-ordinationist's work and we still sit with two Iranian banks in the city of London feeding their money across to these terrible organisations. Mr Speaker can I thank my right hon. Friend particularly for the work he personally does in supporting Ukraine and I agree with him about the risks that Iran poses to both the UK but also regional stability. We have sanctioned more than 400 Iranian individuals and entities including the IRGC in its entirety. I'd also say that the National Security Act of last year implements new measures to protect the British public has been described by intelligence chiefs as game-changing, particularly tackling espionage and foreign interference with tougher powers to arrest and detain people suspected of involvement in state threats and he will know we don't routinely comment on prescription but he will have I hope seen the statement today about our prescription of his butzaria which is something that I know he and other colleagues have been focused on rightly in the previous years. Jeremy Corbyn Thank you Mr Speaker. Can I ask the Prime Minister this? In that region there are 17 million people living in hunger and food shortage. We've had years of bombardment of the people of Yemen by weapons supplied by Britain from Saudi Arabia and we have this dreadful conflict going on in Gaza where there are 30,000 people dead or missing. Where is the comprehensive plan by the Western nations to try to bring about a comprehensive peace across the whole region rather than pumping more and more weapons and money in to more and more conflicts which will get worse? Does he have any hope for the future that there will be a lessening of conflict rather than the present very rapid increase in it? Mr Speaker, I do have hope and that's because as we and others take action to degrade and disrupt the capability of those who are malign actors in the region that will actually give the space for positive voices to build the peace that all of us want to see and to allow everyone to live side by side with dignity and security and opportunity and the original pointed out some of the humanitarian strife that people are suffering. As I've pointed out we should be proud in this house of our record. We have committed over a billion pounds of aid in Yemen since the conflict began in 2014. As I said, we are currently providing food to at least 100,000 people every month, life-saving healthcare to 400 facilities, and it's worth pointing out that Yemen is entirely reliant for food on imports largely by sea and the Houthi's attacks are actually serving to prolong the humanitarian suffering that Yemeni people are seeing is disrupting the very supply of the food that both he and I and everyone in this house would want to see delivered to those people. Very much, Mr Speaker. Yemen has been close to my heart as it has been for the right honourable member for Warsaw South as we were both born there. Thank you very much for all the humanitarian aid that is going there, but I would like to ask what discussions the Prime Minister has had with the Yemeni Presidential Leadership Council and what impact does he think the strikes will have on the fragile peace process? Can I pay tribute to my hon. Friend's work in the region? As the United Nations Security Council penholder in Yemen, the UK is continuing to use our diplomatic and political influence to support UN efforts to bring lasting peace to Yemen through an inclusive political settlement. We support the Saudi Houthi negotiations and indeed the deal that was announced in December of last year by the UN Special Envoy for Yemen, who she will know. Ministers continue to be in dialogue, particularly with our Saudi partners, so that we can try and bring the peace and stability to the Yemeni people that they deserve. I'm grateful to the Prime Minister also for stating today that the UK sought to uphold international law and seek to protect civilians with the recent strikes. Can I ask what the Government's strategy is to prevent escalation? Also, last week the Government confirmed that they are currently no RAF aid flights or Royal Navy deliveries planned to take essential aid into Egypt and onwards to Gaza. Why? I'm not entirely sure that that's right, and I can say to the hon. Lady that we remain committed to increasing the amount of aid that we get into Gaza. We've tripled the financial amount, and as I said, most recently we saw our first maritime shipment of aid into Egypt, where a UK military ship RAF Lime Bay was able to deliver that. We know and she will be aware that there are considerable blockages and logistical challenges on the ground, which we are working to help resolve, which is also why we're putting pressure on the Israelis. I spoke to Prime Minister Netanyahu about this, about opening up additional crossings, like Kerr and Shalom, so that will help us increase the flow of aid into the region. We absolutely want to see that happen. Shall I show a bloc? Mr Speaker, Britain does have a very proud tradition of defending wall toys, and does my right hon. Friend agree with me that actually for all of us who care about humanitarian crisis in aid, that with Russia's action in stopping grain as much as it can, coming out of Turkey, past Turkey, and the potential of the hooties shutting off the access into the Red Sea. That is absolutely vital that we keep these international wall toys open, otherwise we will be facing a catastrophic situation of starvation across many African countries. My hon. Friend makes an excellent point, and particularly about the Black Sea, he'll recall that Ukraine's grain exports disproportionately go to some of the most vulnerable countries in the world. Russia has started a campaign of targeting that civilian infrastructure last year, with our support they have now able to push back the Black Sea fleet, degrade Russia's major combatant vessels, and again, with the support of the City of London in improving the insurance of those ships, we have now seen 300 ships export 10 million tonnes of cargo through the new Ukraine corridor. It highlights the importance of what he's saying, and again in this House we should be proud of the leading role that the UK has had in making that possible. The hooties are an anti-Semitic terrorist group that have caused havoc in Yemen over the past decade, starting a civil war that has killed over 350,000 people. Its slogan includes the lines, death to America, death to Israel, a curse upon the Jews. Would the Prime Minister join me in condemning the shameful pro-hootie chanting that we saw at many protests in the UK over the weekend? Can I commend the Honourable Lady for her remarks, and can I wholeheartedly agree with her? We will absolutely not tolerate that kind of language on our streets. We have been crystal clear about that. We have said to the police that they should take all the size of action against those that promote and encourage terrorism, and indeed those that incite hatred and division on our streets. She will have, I hope, seen the prescription of his, but to rear today another organisation which uses language similar to what she says. Their promotion of terrorism is absolutely rooted in anti-Semitic ideology. I hope that that gives her reassurance that we will confront this and stamp it out wherever we see it, because it is not in accordance with British values, and Jewish people in this country deserve to be able to walk our streets in freedom and security. Can I welcome my right hon. Friend's decision last week to take military action in the Red Sea, and also the substantial increase in aid for Ukraine? Could he just take this opportunity to reiterate and make it absolutely clear that it would be utterly against the national interest and indeed the security interests of the world for the British Prime Minister to be hobbled in the decisions he makes about taking military action by the need to consult in advance? Does he not agree that that responsibility that he bears is intrinsic to his seals of office and it should not be given up? I will thank my right hon. Friend for his comments. In this case, it was necessary to strike with speed and protect the security of the operations, and I believe that that is in accordance with the Convention and the President on these matters, and I believe that he is right that the Government does need to protect the security interests of the United Kingdom. That means sometimes you do have to act decisively, quickly and securely, and fundamentally we need to maintain the prerogative powers that allow the executive to act in such emergencies, but of course I am responsible for those decisions. I do not take them lightly, and Parliament is responsible for holding me to account for them. Zara Sulta Thank you, Mr Speaker. Pass and Stakes in the Middle East should have taught this House that military intervention starting out as limited can quickly escalate, risking a sequence of events far larger and more terrible and risk even dragging us into war. It is for this reason, according to reports in the Times, that foreign office officials were, and I quote, incredibly nervous about last week's military assault in Yemen. Driving the region's instability is Israel's horrifying assault on Gaza, which has now lasted more than 100 days. So rather than giving Israel the green light to continue its brutal bombardment of Gaza and risking a wider conflict, will the Prime Minister seek to de-escalate the situation and call for an immediate ceasefire? Prime Minister Perhaps the Honourable Lady would do well to call on Hamas and the Houthis to de-escalate the situation. Drun Persley Thank you, Mr Speaker. Too many people give a free pass to the terrorists to who perpetrated the worst manner of Jews, and we've just seen an example of that, just as we saw examples of that on our streets this weekend, where people screened Yemen, Yemen turned another ship around, completely unacceptable. One thing that links the Houthis, Hezbollah and Hamas, is their genocidal intent toward Jews and their hatred of everything we stand for in the Western democracies, which is why it is incumbent upon us to defend those values. So can I agree with everything the Prime Minister has said, and can I urge him once more to make sure our police are taking action against those who on our streets openly support terrorism? Drun Persley Well, can I reassure my hon. Friend that the police do have extensive powers to arrest those who incite violence or racial hatred? Of course, we keep all laws under review. We're working with the police whether we need to strengthen those powers, but I've been absolutely clear that there must be zero tolerance for anti-Semitism and any forms of racism. We will not stand by when we see that happen, and the police should make sure that those who do that face the full force of the law. Caroline Lucas Thank you very much, Mr Speaker. The Foreign Secretary said yesterday that the purpose of the airstrikes in Yemen was to send a message, but the message that we intend to send isn't necessarily the message that gets received, and the message seems to have been sent to many in the region that the UK is intervening in the war very clearly on the side of Israel. So what plans does the government have to manage and contain the escalation that is likely to ensue, because simply proclaiming that this activity was intended to be limited, not escalatory, does not make it so? Drun Persley And that's why we took this action as a last resort after extensive attempts at diplomacy, including a UN Security Council resolution. And again, the Honourable Lady could help, because this parliament can speak with one voice so the outside world and our allies in the region know that this does have nothing to do with Israel and Gaza, and has everything to do with our self-defence. Sarah Adlerton Speaker, diverting shipping via the Cape is a financial burden for us all, no more so than the Egyptians due to reduced traffic for the Suez Canal. So can my right hon. Friend explain what discussions he's had with Egyptian counterparts over their involvement in this multinational response? Drun Persley Prime Minister Drun Persley Well, I spoke to President Ceasey just last week. She's right to highlight the economic impact on people around the world. 15% of global trade passes through this corridor, and we are already starting to see the impact of rerouting on the prices of shipping and ultimately on the prices that British people will pay for their goods. My primary conversation with the President at the moment, though, is about increasing the flow of aid into Gaza, where Egypt is doing an extraordinary amount, and we will continue to give them every support that they need. Drun Persley Stella Creason Thank you, Mr Speaker. The Prime Minister said that the stated aims of this action was to degrade the capacity to strike. We have had confirmation that today another cargo ship, a US cargo ship, has been struck by a ballistic missile. There have been explosions at the Yemeni port of Hodida. The Defence Secretary told the media this morning that this Government were prepared to take the decisions that need to be taken if the attacks continue. Given this news that the attacks have continued, can the Prime Minister set out for us what those decisions are and how he intends to involve Parliament in that process? Drun Persley Prime Minister It wouldn't be right to speculate on future action, but what I can say is that our strikes were intended to degrade the Houthi capability. As I said, they did initial assessments show that they effectively destroyed 13 targets at two sites, including drones and airfields, and a cruise missile launcher. Drun Persley Mr Speaker, as co-chair of the All-Party Yemen group with my hon. Friend from Mion Valley, we have seen at first hand how this brutal, misogynistic, homophobic, anti-Semitic terrorist regime backed by Iran, presiding over the world's greatest humanitarian crisis, and responsible for throwing tens of thousands of young men to their deaths in the frontline have acted. Since 2022, they have benefited from a tentative cease-fire. So is this not a lesson in how you cannot achieve sustainable cease-files with terrorist organisations unless and until they have been deprived of their arms and succumbed to democratic legitimacy? Drun Persley Minister, can I thank and pay tribute to my hon. Friend's work in Yemen and very simply agree with him and say that he makes an excellent point? Drun Persley John my noble I appreciate why the Prime Minister is not trying to link this to Gaza, but the reality is the longer the Gaza war goes on, the greater the instability in the Middle East will take place. It's nearly 100 days since he gave his first statement after the terrible, horrendous actions by Hamas, and he justified the actions this week with regard to protection and maritime rights. In that 100 days, 7,000 Palestinian children have been killed. What effective action is he taking to protect the right to life of Palestinian children? What effective actions is he taking to prevent the indiscriminate killing of Palestinian children by the Israeli Defence Force? Drun Persley Minister, as I said, we are deeply concerned about the devastating impact of the fighting in Gaza on the civilian population. Too many people have lost their lives already, and that is why we continue to call for international humanitarian law to be respected and for civilians to be protected. It is something that I continually raise with Prime Minister Netanyahu when I speak to him, and it is why we are doing absolutely everything we can to get more aid into Gaza to help those children and everyone else affected by what is happening. Drun Persley Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker. I could very much welcome this robust statement, but I also agree with prescribing the IRGC. Operationally, given the continued threat to international shipping and by extension to our own economy, will he consider tasking the carrier group, which is ready to deploy from Portsmouth to the Gulf? More strategically, does he agree that interruption to our global supply chains underlines the symbiotic relationship between our security and the UK economy? If we are rightly to seek to play a greater role in upholding international law, as our world becomes ever more contested, we do need to expedite upgrading our defence posture, not least in the maritime space. Drun Persley Mr Speaker, tomorrow a friend makes a very good point about the interconnectedness of the world, the instability that we see, whether it is in the Red Sea or indeed the illegal war conducted in Ukraine by Russia, have had a direct impact on the economic security of British people here at home. That is why it is right that we invest in defence, protect people, and that is why I know that he will continue to engage in dialogue with the Defence Secretary at how best to deploy that extra defence investment to make sure that we have the capabilities that we need. Drun Persley Order. I order that everybody could resume their seats. We have already done an hour, and it looks to me as if there is still a considerable number of people who want to get in. So, please, can I ask you to focus on shorter questions in order that I can help you to get in? Drun Persley Thank you very much. Drun Persley Brenda Dahar Thank you, Mr Speaker. Drun Persley The right of innocent passage is a fundamental principle of international law. It cannot be interrupted by non-state actors, and although he may wish it wasn't the case, international law isn't a menu. It comes as a package, and we cannot pick and choose what bits we want to uphold and what bits we want to ignore. So the Prime Minister unable to see how ignoring everyone's egregious breaches in Gaza, while purporting to act in defence of it in Yemen, actually undermines international law and the rules-based order? Drun Persley No, Mr Speaker. Israel has the right to act in self-defence against her math which conducted a terrorist attack on them, and we continue to call for international humanitarian law to be respected and for civilians to be protected in that conflict. Drun Persley Sir Robert Buckland Thank you, Mr Speaker. I think this House should be in no doubt that conflating issues relating to Israel and Hamas is not a mature way to look at the problem that the Prime Minister had to look at last week. He's made the right decision on the evidence in accordance with law. The question would have been had he failed to take that action, then he would be, I think, exposed to justifiable criticism in this House. In light of that approach that he's taking, with regard to Ukraine and the work that we are doing to work with the Ukrainian Government, will more be done to make sure that we can help our friends in Ukraine to develop further their justice processes, which I think will, in the long term, improve the good governance of that independent country? Drun Persley My Minister Can I thank my hon. Friend? He makes an excellent point, and I'm pleased to tell him that the Attorney General is deeply involved in the work that he suggests, and we're particularly supporting the work of the Office of the Prosecutor General in Ukraine, but more generally the agreement that I just signed with President Zelensky ensures our mutual commitment to help him reform the administration and public administration in Ukraine, something that he's passionate and keen to do, and he will have our support in doing so. Drun Persley Thank you, Mr Speaker. The Prime Minister has heard the support for limited targeted action against the Houthis, and I know and I listen carefully to what he's said about the efforts to prevent civilian casualties, which was an unfortunate issue. I had to raise many times in relation to the previous conflict in Yemen, but can he say therefore a bit more about what we are practically doing to ensure they are tightly targeted against Houthi military capabilities? Of course, he rightly made the point that those are being done to protect civilian shipping, but can he say a little bit more about what we're doing to prevent civilian casualties? Drun Persley Mr Speaker, we obviously, the Honourable General, will respect that. We don't comment in depth on the choice of targets. We do use carefully calibrated intelligence in conjunction with our military partners. The targets were selected specifically to degrade military capabilities and narrowly focused on taking out military hardware, which could be used to attack commercial shipping. I can give him the reassurance that every effort was made to minimise civilian casualties. Indeed, our initial assessment says that that has been successful. Drun Persley Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker. The Prime Minister has said every weekend that the world is in the most dangerous position it has been in decades. The UK has seen military deployments in Ukraine, Kosovo, Guyana and now the Red Sea. It is absolutely crucial to ensure that our armed forces have the appropriate support and resources they need. The Prime Minister has said that the government is committed to an aspiration of 2.5% spending on defence. An aspiration? When does the Prime Minister see the aspiration becoming a reality? Will the government now further look at increasing that to 3% in line with the Foreign Secretary's statement over the weekend that the world is in the most dangerous situation it has been in decades? Drun Persley We have been investing in anticipation that the threats were increasing, and that is why at the last spending review, the defence department received a £24 billion cash increase, a larger sustained increase since the end of the cold. Since then, we have invested an extra £5 billion in increasing stockpiles and improving the sustainability of our defence nuclear enterprise. In 2025, when we have the next spending review, we will set out the target and the path towards 2.5%. Drun Persley I thank the Prime Minister very much for his statement. I assure the Prime Minister that the Democratic Unionist Party will stand with him and with our government in sending the clear message to those who seek to attack either our shipping routes or any attack on our position. We will not be silenced by those who believe they can work in the shadows to supply Yemen or indeed any other country with intelligence or arms. Will the Prime Minister affirm that the friendship and approach between the United Kingdom, United States of America, Australia, Canada and many other nations remain strong enough to stand together against any attempt to undermine our current position? Drun Persley Can I thank the hon. Gentleman for his support? He is right about the importance of working with our allies, and he will have seen all the countries he mentioned as joint signatories of the statement that was put out in advance and after the strikes. Drun Persley Of course we have a right to defend ourselves, and of course sinister forces such as the Houthies in Iran are exploiting these tensions. Just as we have influence on the Americans because we step up the mark, can my right hon. Friend work with the American president to ensure that just as he is completely vigorous in offending Israel and their right to exist, he is even as vigorous in defending the right of the Palestinian people to their own state in peace and justice without a settlement being imposed on them every week? Drun Persley Can I say to my hon. Friend that we do want to see the long-term future of a two-state resolution where Palestine and Israeli people can live side-by-side in security, in freedom, and with dignity and opportunity. That is the future that we are all striving for, and the events of the last few months have just reminded us that we need to double our efforts on making that happen. Drun Persley Thank you very much for the utmost seriousness to the threat posed by the forces of humanity in the Dead Sea. Does the Prime Minister accept that upholding the rights of freedom of navigation in the region is an international challenge that should be dealt with through international diplomacy, principally aimed at securing a sustainable sea-firing Gaza, and that by joining in US-led military action without reference to the UN, we are in danger of exacerbating the threat posed to British citizens by terrorism? Drun Persley Again, the hon. Gentleman has wrongly linked and conflated the situation in Israel and Gaza with the illegal attacks by the duties on innocent commercial shipping. That is simply wrong, and as I pointed out in my statement, there had been extensive diplomatic avenues pursued before military action was taken as a last resort, including a UN Security Council resolution. Drun Persley Sir Robert Neil Thank you, Mr Deputy Secretary. Can I commend the Prime Minister upon his action? He is active clearly on robust legal advice, and the legal position the international law is surely clear. Would he agree that it is unhelpful and frankly dangerous to make bogus comparisons and, secondly, to recognise that, going forward, the greatest risk of escalation will be to fail to act more closely when clear and egregious breaches need to take place at parties? Drun Persley Can I thank my hon. Friend? I agree with everything he said, and he is absolutely right that there is a risk in action, and to have done nothing in the face of these attacks would have been to damage the security of our people and our interests. Drun Thompson I welcome the Prime Minister's commitment to protecting fundamental tenets around international law and upholding fundamental principles of the United Nations. Is that as equally distinct and limited to this action as it is to all other situations? Drun Thompson I didn't completely follow what the hon. Gentleman was saying, but I said that our actions in this case were specific to the case at hand. We acted in self-defence because there was escalating attack from the Houthies and the defiance of international diplomacy. It was right that we took action to protect the security and interests of our people. Drun Thompson Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker. Given the global shortage of basic ammunition, artillery rounds and air defence systems and missiles, is it time that we really upscaled our industrial defence capacity so that we can continue to support our friends in Ukraine and replenish our own talks? Drun Thompson Excellent point in a word, yes. That's why we've invested £2.5 billion rebuilding our stockpiles, but beyond the money we do need to actually just build our defence industrial capability. This is a shared challenge across NATO, something that I've extensively discussed with partners, including the NATO Secretary General. But of course part of our agreement with Ukraine is how we can mutually help support and grow our defence industrial complexes. Drun Thompson Thank you very much, Mr Deputy Speaker. The death and destruction in Gaza is intolerable with well over 20,000 children and innocent civilians already killed by Israeli forces, more than 100 Israeli hostages still held by Hamas, and the real risk of an escalating wider regional conflict. We desperately need an end to the violence, so can the Prime Minister explain exactly what diplomatic progress he has achieved towards securing a sustainable ceasefire and peace in Gaza? Drun Thompson Can I thank the hon. Gentleman for I think being the first member opposite to actually remind the House that Hamas still holds 100 Israeli hostages? And it's good that he pointed that out. And he's right. We are continuously everything we can to bring about that sustainable ceasefire, whether it's working with the Qataris and others to secure the release of hostages and put more aid into Gaza, because I want to see what he wants to see. No one wants to see this conflict go on for a moment longer. It must be a sustainable ceasefire and that's what we'll work hard to bring about. Drun Thompson Thank you, Deputy Speaker. The IAEA recently confirmed that Iran is once again ramping up its uranium enrichment activities to near weapons grade. So in welcoming today's statement in the action that we've taken, can I urge my vulnerable friend to give the House his assurance that he and his counterparts amongst our allies aren't losing sight of the really big questions about whether Iran should be allowed to have a nuclear weapon and whether he's considered whether it's the right time to activate the snapback sanctions provisions of the JCPOA. Drun Thompson That's an excellent point. To say to my hon. Friend there is absolutely no credible civilian justification for enrichment at the levels that the IAEA has reported in Iran. We are determined that Iran must not develop a nuclear weapon and we are actively considering next steps with our international partners. That means all diplomatic tools but including, as he said, using the snapback mechanism if necessary. Drun Thompson Thank you, Deputy Speaker. We all stand behind Ukraine in the face of Russian aggression but does the Prime Minister accept that if we believe that the UK security is important in relation to Ukraine that we do accept that we are giving relatively less than other countries such as Germany can and should we be doing more? Drun Thompson We should be proud of our record. We've been one of the largest contributors to the effort in Ukraine but it's also important to recognise that we have consistently been the first country to act and that has galvanised others and that is an important role that Ukrainians especially recognise. I went through the capabilities that was true for but again crucially we were the first country out of the 30 that promised to sign a security commitment and as others follow that will enhance and improve Ukraine's deterrent against Russia and again it's something that we should be proud of. Drun Thompson Thank you very much, Deputy Speaker. Can I welcome the Prime Minister here opening himself up to democratic scrutiny but can I also welcome the fact that he took the decision to act and took that heavy duty and responsibility before coming to this House and it is fully last for a vote in advance of action and it is in our national security that the Prime Minister can act and that that precedent goes a long way back well before 2015 and 2018 the precedents he cites but is the constitutional basis on which we defend ourselves as a country. The Prime Minister Can I thank my hon. Friend for his support and his comments and he's right this is not a decision that I took lightly and he was right to point out that publicising an action like this in advance could underline the effectiveness of it and risk the lives. Of course it's Parliament's responsibility to hold me to account for such decisions but it is my responsibility as Prime Minister to make those decisions. Barry Sherman Mr Deputy Speaker, the Prime Minister may not be aware or perhaps he is aware that I am not the greatest expert on international relations but I am a person that was born on August 17, 1940, when the German bombers were falling all over and I was sheltering in a shelter and can I tell him that although I've been a Labour friend of Israel ever since I went to the London School of Economics, I don't trust Net and Hive's government although I do support the limited action that he has announced but could I say as someone who was born in the Blitz that I care very deeply about actions that might lead to an even greater conflagration in the Middle East. That is the danger, it seems to me is exactly what Putin and the Rahm once and please let's be careful in these steps although I do support the limited action. The Prime Minister Can I thank the hon. Gentleman for his comments and reassure him that the action we took I believe was necessary but it was limited and proportionate and in keeping with international law and that's the approach that we will always take in such matters. I was proud to celebrate Christmas and New Year with Huddersfield and Convally's vibrant Ukrainian community once again this year just as I have done for many years and they told me first hand how proud and appreciative they are of the UK's steadfast support for Ukraine. Will the Prime Minister continue to make the case not only to the British people but to our NATO allies and international allies while we must make sure alongside Ukraine that Putin's evil aggression doesn't succeed and just remind people of what the dire consequences would be if he ever did? My hon. Friend is absolutely right if Putin was to succeed it would not just embolden him but it will embolden our adversaries around the world and that's why it's important that we continue to invest in Ukraine and as I say to all our allies an investment in Ukraine security is ultimately an investment in our security and that's why we must stand with them for as long as it takes. Thank you Mr Deputy Speaker. The Government of Japan clearly brought the resolution to the UN last week for specific reasons and it's a very detailed resolution which was voted on and one part of it which they think is extremely important of course is part which quote is to deal with the root causes of the conflict in relation to Yemen. So maybe I could give the Prime Minister the opportunity to reflect again on the question posed by my hon. Friend the Member for Aberdeen South. What is the Government's plan now to play a part in the ending of that conflict? What comes next? Well Mr Deputy Speaker as I said previously we are supportive of the Saudi-Husien negotiations of the deal that was announced in December by the UN Special Envoy. We've been in dialogue specifically with the Saudis on this issue and we continue to want to see a lasting peace in Yemen brought through an inclusive political settlement. Maggie True. Thank you Speaker and I commend my hon. Friend on his decisive action. The threat posed by Houthi rebels to global trade demonstrates the importance of maintaining the well resourced on forces on land, sea and air. Given the current challenges in the recruitment to retention of service personnel, will my rightful friend consider first support for cadet units such as those excellent ones in my constituency in Ilkaston and Longeatan to ensure that we have a trade supply of recruits who are ready and willing to serve? Can I, as in Royal Royal, that's an excellent idea and can I pay tribute to all her local cadets for the incredible job they do and I'm sure the whole House will have experience in their own constituencies of that and I can say we're introducing a number of ways to improve recruitment in the armed forces and look at more innovative ways to attract people into it and I know the Defence Secretary will have heard what she said with interest. Jeane Wittam. Mr Deputy Speaker, military action in places such as Afghanistan, Iraq and Libya, in which the UK has played a part, has frequently resulted in unintended consequences, triggering further cycles of conflict in and around these countries. Will the Prime Minister accept that the US and the UK bombing Yemen risks escalating tensions at a time when violence is spreading in the Middle East and will he commit to allowing Parliament to vote on any further action? Well Mr Deputy Speaker, I think the hon. Lady's characterization of what we did wasn't right. It was not bombing Yemen, it was taking targeted, limited action against hooty military sites that were launching attacks on civilian shipping and it's also worth as hon. Members have said pointing out the risks of inaction which he failed to mention because doing nothing would send a dangerous message that British vessels, British interests and British lives are fair game and that would be unacceptable. I have a tribute to my right hon. Friend for the actions he has taken and for the leadership that he has shown. Can he tell the House what discussions he has had with key influences and key allies in the region such as Qatar, Egypt and others who have played a prominent part in seeking to de-escalate tensions in the area? I can reassure my right hon. Friend that both I, the Defence Secretary and the Foreign Secretary are having those conversations. I spoke to President Sisi recently and indeed all other leaders in the Middle East towards the end of last year and the Foreign Secretary is engaged as we speak together with his colleagues in extensive dialogue to make sure our allies and partners understand what we did and why and that we remain committed to seeing a peaceful future for everyone living in the Middle East. Deputy Speaker, inspectors of the international atomic energy agency have been denied access to a Russian occupied Ukrainian nuclear power station for two weeks and haven't yet received 2024 maintenance plans for the facility. Can he tell me what assessment the UK government has made of that situation? Well I think it just highlights Russia's continuing activity that is malignant and serves to cause everyone alarm, particularly when it comes to the security of nuclear i-AA must have free access to all its sites that it needs to, and there's been a longstanding concern that they haven't been able to have that. We continue to call out Russian behaviour in the UN and elsewhere, and that's what we will do to make sure that they're accountable. Anthony Magdon. Deputy Speaker, the freedom of navigation is an uncontested right, whether it's in the South China Sea or on the Gulf of Avon. Before I was in this place, I was a shipping broker. Could the Prime Minister perhaps reassure the shipping industry of which London remains one of the foremost capitals? That we will be able to lay on more support in terms of armed convoys through the Gulf of Avon and into the Red Sea, and that we will supply as much reassurance and equipment for the maritime protection force that has been mentioned by others? Well, I thank my hon. Friend for his excellent question. He'll know, I hope, he will have seen the welcome response from the shipping industry, leading shipping companies, who have welcomed the action we have taken to restore security to the region. Of course, we are members of Prosperity Guardian, which is something the shipping industry is keen to see, so that we can bring that safety of transit for all their plant states, and we'll be in regular dialogue as the Transport Secretary has been with them in the coming days and weeks. Y Llywydd. Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker. Since the outbreak of war in Gaza between Israel and Hamas, as well as the crisis in shipping security, which has now led to the UK military response to protect British interests, fighting between Hezbollah and Israel is intensifying, busking a wider escalation engulfing Lebanon, Iraq, Syria and other countries. Can the Prime Minister be more specific to tell the House exactly what he's doing working with the US and regional partners to bring an end to the war in Gaza and stop a full-blown regional conflict that we are all very concerned about? Mr Deputy Speaker, what we are doing is calling on Hamas and using our influence with their partners in the region to release hostages and making sure that we get as much aid into Gaza in the interim because we know that there's a need for it, we're concerned by the impact it's having and again the UK is playing a leading role in alleviating that suffering. Neil Hudson. Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker. I thank the Prime Minister for his clear statement on this necessary military action in Yemen. Can I join him in paying tribute to our brave armed forces at this time? Can the Prime Minister reaffirm that this action is important for protecting freedom and navigation and the safety of shipping, which has direct and indirect impacts both on world trade and indeed our UK economy? My hon. Friend is absolutely right to point out the impact of what's happening in the Red Sea on British families at home. 15% of global trade passes through this corridor. As we are saying, if they have to re-root, that will have the direct consequence on the prices that British families pay. As we saw with the Ukraine and Russia situation, we can't ignore what is happening. We need to act to protect British people and ensure their economic security. Adam Keiser. Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker. Our portality rebels must stop their attacks in the Red Sea. The Prime Minister was correct in his statement today to speak of the dire humanitarian crisis in Yemen. He's, of course, spoken at the dispatch box today about the aid delivery to Yemen. Yet he failed to mention that a successive conserved of governments, both as a cash figure and proportion of ODA humanitarian aid to Yemen, has been backfallen since 2019. So if the Prime Minister accepts that there is a humanitarian crisis, not just in Yemen, of course, but across the globe in Gaza, Ethiopia and other countries, then what has government returned to 0.7%? A move that would be supported by Members from across the House. Mr Deputy Speaker, we are the fifth largest donor for the UN appeal in Yemen, £1 billion since a conflict started, and we are providing food for at least 100,000 people every month. It's a record that we should be proud of. The UK, again, leading by example, are making an enormous difference around the world. Deputy Speaker, I think it's since 1875 that the Royal Navy has had a key objective of keeping the Sur's Canal open for commercial shipping. So, frankly, this should have come as a surprise to no one, and I commend the Prime Minister on his decisive action in that regard. But listening to the statement today, I'm not hearing much for connection with Gaza. What I am hearing again and again and again from questions are connections to Iran. And it's easy looking at the symptoms, but the causes also need to be looked at. And could I just ask my right hon. Friend if he's going to be working with our international allies to deal with the question of Iran? My hon. Friend is absolutely right. That is where the linkage is. It's with the behaviour of the Iranian regime. We agree with the US assessments, and I can give him the reassurance that we are working closely with partners. Obviously, we're taking steps to protect ourselves here at home with the National Security Act and other measures. But, of course, internationally, we want to see Iran's influence on the region create less instability. And that's why our interdiction, for example, of illegal arms shipments is so important, and we'll remain actively engaged in how we can do more. Clive Effort. Clearly, we couldn't ignore attacks on international shipping, and we were right to act with international partners, and we must continue to work to broaden that partnership. Indeed, in dealing with the situation as we go forwards. Having said that, can the Prime Minister say just how do we measure success of this limited engagement? How do we deem it to be safe for international shipping to return to the Red Sea? What is the end plan? Can I thank the hon. Gentleman for his support? On its merits, the specific targets that were selected, our initial assessment is that we have been successful in destroying those, but that remains an initial assessment. We want to see what he said, which is a return of shipping, safely to the region. Transport Secretary is regularly engaging with companies about their passage, but we will continue to do everything we can to ensure that safe passage through the region working together with our analysts. Henry Smith. Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker. The Iranian-backed Houthis are a terrorist group who have killed hundreds of thousands of Yemenis and are fighting the international recognised government in Yemen. The action that the UK took with Allies earlier this week last week was absolutely correct. What further efforts are being made by the government to augment and increase the already impressive international coalition that we have to make sure that more countries step up and play their part to ensure freedom of navigation, which is so important for global free trade? My noble friend is absolutely right, and we will continue to engage diplomatically to broaden that coalition. Already, as he knows, 14 countries signed the statement UN Security Council resolution, but ultimately everybody is impacted when freedom of navigation is imperiled as it is, not just for the security of their citizens, but also because of the shock to their domestic economies from higher inflation. So I'm confident that we will continue to have a broad coalition for condemning what the Houthis are doing and calling on them to desist. After the horrific events of October 7, the Prime Minister told the House that the UK was working to prevent escalation. We are increasing our presence to prevent broader regional instability at this dangerous moment. In the following months, nearly 24,000 Palestinians have been killed, cross-border fighting in Hezbollah, air raids in Lebanon and Syria, and now Houthi attacks on vessels in the Red Sea resulting in US and UK strikes in Yemen. So does the Prime Minister accept that the attempts to prevent escalation and broader instability are failing, that this cycle of violence must stop and that this requires an immediate humanitarian ceasefire and then to the indiscriminate bombardment of Gaza? Mr Speaker, in Gaza no-one wants to see the conflict go on a moment longer than is necessary. We support a ceasefire, but it must be a sustainable ceasefire that will last and that's what we'll continue to work to bring about. Alexander Stafford. Thank you very much, Mr Speaker. I congratulate the Prime Minister for who's right to act with force, determination and firepower against the Houthi terrorists to protect international shipping and keep the Red Sea signal lanes open. With the recent deal between Ethiopia and Somaliland opening up the real possibility of international and regional recognition of Somaliland as independent culture which would help enable stability of the Horn of Africa at the southern end of the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden. Does my right hon. Friend agree with me that education should follow Ethiopia's example and start the process to recognise Somaliland as a sovereign independent country? Can I thank my hon. Friend for his support of our action and he'll know that the Foreign Office and Ministers are regularly engaged with our partners in Africa and what we want to do is bring prosperity and security to the region and we'll continue to dialogue with everyone to make sure that that happens. Having been born in Aden I'm obviously sad that the democratic and humanitarian crisis in Yemen over the last nine years hasn't provoked such an active response against the Houthis. But could I ask the Prime Minister who advised him not to come to Parliament and how will he ensure that the peace agreement in Yemen is actively and vigorously monitored and pursued? Well, Mr Deputy Speaker, as I said, we support the Saudi Houthi negotiations and the deal that was announced in December by the UN Special Envoy on Yemen. It would urge the Houthis to stop jeopardising the best chance of peace in Yemen in years and engage constructively with that so that we can expand the benefits that the truth is brought to the Yemeni people. Of course, we need to see progress from them on that and once that is done then hopefully all of us can look forward to a brighter future for the Yemeni people. David Giants. Mr Deputy Speaker, there are credible reports that the Houthis who launched missiles at HMS Diamond and the ships of our American allies were trained in their use in Iran by the Islamic Revolution Regard Corps. The IRGC is therefore a direct threat to our servicemen and women, just as it has for many years been a threat to British citizens on the streets of the United Kingdom. I've heard what my right hon. Friend has said about the sanctions that have been applied to the IRGC, but could I urge him that now is the time to prescribe the IRGC as a terrorist organisation because that is what it is? Well, Mr Deputy Speaker, as I said, I agree with my right hon. Friend about the destabilising influence of the Iranian gene. We will continue to work constructively with our allies to ensure that we can protect not just our citizens at home but reduce and degrade Iran's ability to destabilise the region further. Well, I very much welcome the Prime Minister's announcement on funding for Ukraine and the UK-Ukrain Security Cooperation Agreement, which, in line with the NATO-Ukraine Commissions programme, focuses now on increasing Ukraine's defence industrial base and ensuring that they can provide long-term assistance against Russia's aggression. So can you tell us what discussions he had with President Zelensky about exactly how we will be involved both government and UK manufacturers in implementing that info? Thank you very much, Lady, for her question. I think she's absolutely right about the necessity of doing that. It was a feature of our conversations last week, but also we facilitated a visit by some of our leading defence companies to Ukraine at the end of last year to further the cooperation between our two countries, and there's a path forward to see how we can build that, to build the defence industrial base in Ukraine to help them defend themselves in the future. Ms Shaw. Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker. First, I associate myself with all the comments made by the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition in the commitment to root out antisemitism. It is unacceptable for British Jews to be held responsible for the actions of Israel as a government, and for the idea that British Jews can have any effect there with the Israeli Prime Minister or with his Cabinet. In the same vein, Mr Deputy Speaker, it is also true with the rise of Islamophobia, and it really has been a new law and a new painful blow today for the Prime Minister to say to a British Muslim in this House, the Member for Coventry South, that she should tell Hamas and Houthis to stop doing what they're doing. That is an Islamophobic trope, Mr Deputy Speaker, and maybe the Prime Minister will reflect, withdraw and take the opportunity to show leadership and apologise. Coming back to the question, Mr Deputy Speaker, the government itself. I think it's fun for you. I'm going to take it at that, please. I would say to the Honourable Lady I have said to all Members consistently not to conflate these conflicts and when they are calling on the UK to de-escalate tensions to recognise that the people who are causing these situations in the first place is the Hamas terrorist organisation and the Houthis, and it's got nothing to do with anything else other than to recognise the instigators of this violence and illegality and make sure that is uppermost in his mind when we have these conversations about the best way to respond. Can we really focus on the question, please? Mary Kelly for it. Mr Deputy Speaker, only a handful of MPs have had the chance to scrutinise the Foreign Secretary since his appointment last year. In fact, news presenters have had more opportunities to scrutinise him than we have. Parliament is supposed to be sovereign and we must be able to scrutinise major decisions like last week's airstrikes. So what steps is the Prime Minister taking to ensure that we in this House can scrutinise the Foreign Secretary and debate and vote on military action? Mr Deputy Speaker, my vulnerable friend has made regular statements over the past couple of months about foreign affairs. I am here answering questions about the actions last week and the Procedure Committee is actively looking at how we can ensure proper accountability and scrutiny. As indeed, I gave evidence on that particular topic at the Liaison Committee in December. Prime Minister, we must support the recognised Yemeni Government not least by helping them to address the huge problems of malnutrition and hunger. The Government has slushed aid by almost £200 million. He has already answered several questions on humanitarian aid. Will he reverse the cuts to the aid budget in order to address the human suffering in Yemen which only fuel the success of the Houthi terrorists? I was proud that we hosted Food Security Summit, which was warmly welcomed by vulnerable countries last year, but perhaps the Honourable Lady could tell the House how she would propose to pay for the £5 billion increase in the aid budget that she is proposing. Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker. I am terrified that the strikes in Yemen are disassociated with Gaza. The Iranian Ark has drawn a different conclusion, not least as the strikes took place in the same day as the ICJ case brought by South Africa. We know the only way forward is de-escalation in the night that assaults continue in the merchant navy and assaults in Gaza continue also over the weekend. When will he condemn the attacks by Israel against the millions and call for an immediate ceasefire? We have addressed that previously, but with regard to South Africa's referral of Israel to the ICJ that development is unhelpful, we don't agree with it and I don't believe it is right. As we've previously stated Israel does have a right to take action in self-defence against the mass and it's important that it does that in accordance with international humanitarian law and we will continue to make that point to them. Richard Bergen. Deputy Speaker. We are now in a very dangerous moment where the war in Gaza risks spreading to a much wider and even more deadly war across the Middle East. There is a real risk our country finds itself in yet another war in the Middle East that it cannot get out of easily. To avoid any wider war that we now need an emphasis on de-escalation and diplomatic efforts and doesn't the need to seek such a wider diplomatic solution make it more urgent to be pushing the ceasefire in Gaza? Richard Bergen. No-one wants to see the conflict in Gaza go on a moment longer than is necessary. We support a ceasefire but it must be a sustainable ceasefire that will last and that means Hamas no longer empowering Gaza, no longer able to threaten Israel with rocket attacks and other forms of terrorism and Hamas simply does not represent the Palestinian people's legitimate aspirations. Kevin Brennan. Thank you, Speaker. Simon, the House may recall that one of my constituents was held captive by the Houthies for five years simply for being in possession of a British passport. I'm glad that the House will know that we were able to get him safely returned so we should be under no illusions about the nature of the Houthies but can I re-emphasise the importance of minimising any civilian casualties and any action that the UK is involved with and can he impress that not only upon our highly professional armed forces but also upon our partners in any action for the taken by the UK? I can give the Honourable Gentleman that assurance and again our initial assessment is that we were successful in minimising civilian casualties in this case. Richard Ford. Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker. There are times when a Government needs to take military action without the approval of Parliament including for operational security or for the element of surprise but last week's strikes were signalled very plainly in the media. The strikes could have been debated, voted on and supported by this House in advance of action. Tomorrow I will table a bill which will require parliamentary approval for the engagement of UK armed forces in armed conflict even if it is retrospective. Will the Prime Minister support it? As I said it was necessary to act with speed so that we could allow our armed forces to maintain the vital security of their operations and ensure the effectiveness. I believe that is in accordance with the convention on the deployment of military force and as I said previously we must maintain the prerogative powers that allow the executive to act in such emergencies but I am here in Parliament to explain the action in full and take responsibility for it. Alex Shoball. Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker. The Prime Minister earlier in the statement stated that the Houthies were aided by Iranian military intelligence assets to target British shipping. Now, does that mean that the UK Government considers Iranian military intelligence assets to be legitimate targets for future military strikes? What I said was that we agree with the US assessment that Iran has supported Houthie attacks and providing intelligence in a general sense to enable Houthie targeting of vessels. I have talked already about the destabilising influence of Iran in the region and indeed the threat to the UK, which is why we have taken significant and decisive action to protect ourselves against it and will continue to work with our allies to restrain their malign influence. Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker. As much as the Houthies might wish to conflate their piracy with support for the Palestinian people their indiscriminate attacks on shipping from across the world indicates otherwise. Whilst I agree that under international law there was justification for this military intervention, what was his assessment of the risk that this action could ignite conflict across the Middle East and on the appearance of double standards on when the UK or its allies chooses to observe international law? We always strive and make sure that we comply with international law as we did in this case but we should also recognise the risks of inaction because doing nothing would very clearly weaken international security and the rule of law, damage freedom of navigation and the global economy but crucially send a very dangerous message that British vessels, British lives and British interests are fair game and that is not something that we can allow to stand. Mr Deputy Speaker, in his statement the Prime Minister told us one of his motives was the ordinary people of Yemen. He said the Houthies attacks risk worsening the dire situation, the humanitarian situation in Yemen, before patting himself on the back about the number of people that the UK helps to feed in Yemen and he's not wrong about the Houthies. However surely the biggest threat to Yemen and people of Yemen is the cuts that have been made to the international aid budget. Two years ago they cut it from £221 million a year to £81 million an eye watering cut. Mr Deputy Speaker, as I said we are proudly one of the largest contributors of aid to Yemen and indeed it is the Houthies by disrupting shipping that are disrupting the very supplies of food that is necessary to feed their people. And when it comes to increasing the aid budget I took the decision I did because I believed it was in our country's best interest giving the financial situation of the country of the country of the country the financial situation of the country post Covid. But we now know that Scotland is the highest tax part of the United Kingdom economy so perhaps the Honourable Lady can explain to the British people what taxes she would increase to pay for an increase in the aid budget. Mr Speaker, the Prime Minister is right when he says as a consequence of inaction just as there is of action and clearly the Houthies gave no alternative but the response that has come from the UK and our allies. But he also said I thought incredibly that their attacks on shipping were completely unrelated to the appalling civil war in Yemen for which they are entirely responsible and which has claimed almost 380,000 lives. Charlotte had everything to do with that conflict and there is a concern that the Houthies political position has been strengthened inside Yemen and beyond on both sides. So what assessment has he made of the impact of the action on the peace process and could he spell out what more not what we have done, what we've been involved in but what more we will do to achieve a political solution and a political settlement in Yemen in the future? Mr Speaker, what I said is our response was not linked to the conflict in Gaza and should not be or conflated as being so. Now as I said we are a pen holder of the Security Council so we actually diplomatically engage extensively with allies, notably the Saudis to see if we can support the deal that was announced in December. We will continue to do so and obviously it's for the Houthies that the onus is on to engage in that process to bring about peace and stability for the people of Yemen. Llywydd. Nothing angers me more than those who choose to use the plight of the Palestinians on their own nefarious ends and this applies to Iran primarily but also their proxies. Does the Prime Minister accept that the best way to pull out the rug from under the Iranian regime is to achieve that two-state solution by way of an immediate bilateral ceasefire in this conflict now? As I've said previously we do support a ceasefire but it must be sustainable and that means multiple things have to happen for it to be so but as I've said previously we remain committed to a two-state solution because I believe in the future as does this Government and I think this house where Palestinian and Israeli people can live side by side in peace and security and everyone can live their lives with dignity and opportunity that is a future that we are striving to build. Matt Weston. Thank you Mr Deputy Speaker and can I welcome the remarks when the Prime Minister in complication of the situation there has seen obviously just the 20 beyond the 23,000 deaths of civilians including children is really quite shocking but it's now extending to a crisis of other nations more widely and across the world. Does he agree with me that we do need to see a negotiated ceasefire in Gaza and that ultimately 30 years on now we have to see a deal which is land for peace negotiated. Mr Deputy Speaker no-one wants to see this conflict go on a moment longer than is necessary. We support a ceasefire but it must be a sustainable ceasefire that will last and that means Hamas releasing hostages but also no longer able to threaten Israel with rocket attacks and other forms of terrorism and in the meantime we will do everything we can to get more aid into Gaza. Thank you Mr Deputy Speaker it's obvious that longer the conflict in Gaza goes on the greater number of innocent civilian casualties will be the greater the risk of wider escalation in that region isn't the case of the UK to be seen as an honest broker as well as rightly condemning Hamas the Prime Minister needs to call out Israel for clear beaches of humanitarian law call for a immediate ceasefire and also instead of actors like China who are now calling for an international conference to set a timetable for a two-state solution wouldn't be much better if the UK was actually doing something constructive to get that two-state solution in place Thank you We continue to call for international humanitarian law to be respected and for civilians to be protected too many civilians have been killed and as we've been clear Israel should do more to ensure that its campaign is targeted on Hamas leaders and their operatives Dr Winter Thank you Deputy Speaker My hon. Friend my research fellow at Chatham houses argue the attacks on Yemen will have the opposite effect instigating a widened footy campaign including attacks on US and UK installations across the Arabian Peninsula So can I ask the Prime Minister if the footy operations continue as they have done in the last couple of days and UK and US military sponsors persist what is the end game and how much death and destruction is this country risking if we do not prioritise the cessation of military action in Yemen and the Red Sea but also crucially in Gaza the West Bank and Israel Mr Speaker the hon. Lady talks about the cessation of military action in the Red Sea it is the hooties that are conducting illegal strikes on civilian shipping and to do nothing in the face of that I think would be to weaken our security and leave British interests and lives at risk Thank you Mr Speaker we have seen from other events in Iraq Libya and elsewhere but United Kingdom and United States has resulted in destabilisation and subsequent civil wars with massive loss of civilian life What if anything is the Prime Minister making terms of diplomatic efforts to prevent this happening in the Yemen Mr Speaker as I've pointed out previously several countries 14 in which signed a statement earlier this year calling on the hooties to desist what they were doing and said there would be consequences and we've had a UN Security Council resolution condemning hooty activity and noting the right of states to take self-defence and that's what we did we acted in a proportionate and necessary way in a direct threat to UK vessels and therefore to the UK itself Thank you Mr Speaker many people are deeply worried about the escalation of hostilities and growing instability across the region there must be an accelerated determination to bring about an urgently needed ceasefire in Gaza and hostage release and if the bombing doesn't deter the awful actions of the UK rebels what is the Prime Minister's plan be I say to the hon. Lady as well there is in all cases a risk of inaction in the face of attacks on civilian lives, British interests it would have been wrong to do nothing there have been extensive diplomatic activity and this military action was limited it was proportionate and necessary and it was in self-defence I believe that was the right course of action and to do nothing would have been to be wrong Gavin Newlands Thank you very much Mr Deputy Speaker the Prime Minister said quite rightly that we must condemn the hooties and the illegal strikes on innocent civilians to protect the rule of law so will we also condemn Israel and illegal strikes against innocent civilians including 10,000 dead children to protect the self-same rule of law As I've said repeatedly we are deeply concerned about the devastating impact of the fighting in Gaza on the civilian population too many people have lost their lives already and there is a desperate need to increase humanitarian support to Gaza that is what we're doing with the international humanitarian law and to do everything they can to protect civilian life Andy Slawter Thank you very much Mr Deputy Speaker there is a greater conflict in the Middle East now than there has been for many years in Lebanon, Syria and Iraq as well as Yemen, Israel and Palestine much of it is stoked by hostile actors the Prime Minister has told us what his military response is presently what specifically diplomatic initiative is he pursuing to promote Britain's historic role towards peace in the Middle East Well the Honourable Gentleman know I was one of the first foreign leaders to visit the region after the attacks and meet with all regions all the leaders from across the region including all the Arab states and President Abbas from the Palestinian Authority and we are working with them to make sure that they have the capability for a post Gaza future and how best to deliver that as well as working with other Arab partners to ensure that we have aided and working towards a more peaceful long term future Christine Jardine Thank you very much Mr Deputy Speaker the Prime Minister is right to point to the consequences for all of our constituents of these direct attacks on shipping by the Houthi he's also right to talk about the dangers of inaction but can I add my voice to those today who have pointed to our inaction in this place towards the Iranian Revolutionary Guard and we see the malign hand of Iran throughout the Middle East now creating situation after situation so does the Prime Minister not think that the time has come to prohibit the Iranian Revolutionary Guard and describe them as a terrorist organisation Mrs Deputy Speaker we don't comment on prescription decisions but I agree with the Honourable Lady that the behaviour of the Iranian regime including the IRGC does pose a significant threat to the safety and security of the UK and our allies that's why we've sanctioned over 400 individuals including the IRGC in its entirety we've passed new laws like the National Security Act which give us the powers we need to keep us safe and we will continue to work closely with allies to make sure we implement the most effective ways of reducing Iran's malign influence in the region Final question Jonathan Edwards The Prime Minister has emphasised throughout the debate that it was not an act of escalation but surely the key determinant of that is how the action is perceived by forces in the Middle East and the wider Arab population Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Jordan and Egypt countries we would not describe as anti-western in any way have all expressed varying degrees of concern he's not worried at all but many of the key players in the region view the military action as escalatory I don't believe that we can outsource our foreign policy to the perception of what other countries might have and we should recognise the risks of inaction to do nothing, as I said, would be to weaken international security in the rule of law it would further damage freedom of navigation and the global economy including those for British families here and crucially to do nothing would send a dangerous message that British vessels, British interests and British lives are fair game and that would be completely unacceptable and that is why it's right that we acted I'd like to thank the Prime Minister for his statement today and responding to questions for just five minutes short of two hours Thank you very much Point of order, Sarah Sultana Order, Mr Deputy Speaker and in line with the House's rules I informed the member in question that I would be referencing him in the previous statement the member for Brigongool implied that I had just and I quote given a free pass to the terrorists in October 7 attack Mr Deputy Speaker, that claim is grotesquely untrue My question to the Prime Minister in no way had that implication I was calling for a de-escalation in the region and for an immediate ceasefire and his accusation is absolutely untrue in this house and elsewhere I have repeatedly condemned the actions of Hamas and called for the release of all hostages moreover the member's gross accusation is playing to a racist trope implying that because I am a Muslim I support Hamas so with rising Islamophobia and racist tropes asking British Muslims to prove their loyalty can I ask you for guidance on how to get a full retraction and apology from the member for Brigongool Further to that point of order Andrew Percy Loved as I am to engage in this silliness let me be absolutely clear let me be absolutely clear to the honourable lady not only did I not reference her I have on numerous if she'd listened to the response on numerous occasions I have said too many people have failed to call out what I think is unacceptable I have said that before I am not going to stop saying that I think people have given a free pass on occasions to behaviour and have not dealt with this with a fair hand that is an open point of debate I have called people out on my own side for that if she could sit here and listen to me it has absolutely nothing to do with the thing but I don't want to engage in this silliness so I will say to the honourable lady I have absolutely no intention of infering at all that she is in any let me respond that she is in any way in support of any of that I'm sure she isn't I never said that I would never say that but I'm also not going to not say what I think on issues in this house and call out what I think is on this issue too many people in this place are giving a free pass to one side whilst not acknowledging the horrors that the other side suffered I'm going to allow that on both sides to stand on the record Leila Moran point of order I'd like to seek your guidance on the parliamentary convention regarding the deployment of UK armed forces for armed conflict the Prime Minister