Shoppers face price rises as Houthis continue Red Sea disruption, Healey warns

Shoppers face higher prices as a result of Houthi disruption to international shipping, the Defence Secretary has warned after airstrikes by British forces.

After a Royal Air Force strike against a drone manufacturing facility used by the Houthi militia in Yemen, John Healey said the UK took action in part because “ordinary people” pay the price for Red Sea disruption “in the food they buy, the goods they depend on”.

It is the first time the RAF has struck Houthi targets in Yemen since May 2024, under Rishi Sunak’s administration, and it was part of a joint operation alongside US forces.

It came after a leaked US Signal group chat revealed vice president JD Vance hated “bailing Europe out” and Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth said “European freeloading” was “pathetic”.

At the despatch box on Wednesday, Mr Healey said: “This is a matter of freedom of navigation.

“It’s a matter of international law, but it’s a matter of economic self-interest for us in Britain because the price paid by the disruption to world shipping and this essential trade route through the Red Sea, that price is paid by ordinary people in the food they buy, the goods they depend on, and that is in part why we’ve taken the action we did last night.”

The Defence Secretary had earlier said: “I can tell the House now this afternoon that our initial assessment is that the planned targets were all successfully hit, and we’ve seen no evidence of civilian casualties.”

He told the Commons that since November 2023, the Houthis had launched more than 320 attacks on international shipping in the Red Sea, adding: “Maritime routes have been disrupted, sailors have been killed, commercial ships have been hit and sunk.

“Houthis have even targeted aid vessels destined for Yemen itself, as well as military vessels of our allies and partners.”

Commons defence committee chairman Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi, the Labour MP for Slough, said: “Houthi attacks since 2023 have tragically killed innocent merchant mariners, led to a shocking 55% drop in shipping through the Red Sea costing billions, fuelled regional instability and has exacerbated the cost-of-living crisis here in the UK and across the globe.

“But how confident is (Mr Healey) based on current intelligence that after yesterday’s strike that there will be freedom of navigation and that there will be no further loss of life because of the Houthis?”

Mr Healey replied that “there is no overnight solution to this” but added: “The evidence that is reported from the US military of this new, sustained, intensive campaign seems to be having an effect on the pace and the rate and the threat that the Houthis pose.

“And our action last night was designed to reinforce that campaign, to support the push for regional stability and also to protect the domestic economy and the impact of the disruption in international shipping and the effect that that has on prices for ordinary people.”

The Defence Secretary has previously warned that a “55% drop in shipping through the Red Sea” had already cost this economy “billions”.

The Houthis claim their actions in the region are in response to Israel’s war on Hamas in Gaza, an assertion dismissed by the UK and allies.

The MoD said “careful intelligence analysis” identified a cluster of buildings used by the Houthis to manufacture drones around 15 miles south of capital Sanaa.

The strikes were conducted by Royal Air Force Typhoon FGR4s, which used Paveway IV precision-guided bombs.

Asked on Wednesday if the UK had escalated its involvement as a result of US concerns revealed in leaked Signal messages, the Prime Minister’s official spokesman said: “We have always provided support to the United States on this.

“In recent months, we’ve been supporting the US whether it is through air-to-air refuelling, the use of Diego Garcia, the provision of RAF Typhoons to support the defence of the US carrier strike groups which have been coming under daily attack from Houthi missiles and drones.”

In the Commons chamber, Liberal Democrat international development spokeswoman Monica Harding asked: “Can I ask the Secretary of State, is he confident about the appropriate security for our military personnel given the previous leaks from the Trump administration on Signal giving details of attacks before they happened, and what reassurances he has had from the United States?”

Mr Healey replied: “I am confident. We handle secure communications in secure ways and we do that consistently here in the UK.”