London, Thanasis Gavos

His prime minister United Kingdom Rishi Sunak once again defended the “limited” US-British strikes on Houthi positions in Yemen on Thursday night, telling the House of Commons that it was an “act of self-defence”.

In an emergency briefing to MPs on Monday afternoon, Mr Sunak said the Houthis on January 9 had carried out “the biggest attack against the British Royal Navy in decades”, referring to the drone attacks on the destroyer HMS Diamond in the Red Sea .

He also referred to the “more than 25” attacks on merchant ships in the area by the Houthis since November 19 and said that in this act of self-defense the USA and Britain they defended freedom of navigation.

He noted that the attacks on all 13 pre-selected targets in Yemen were successful, as all were “destroyed”. He added that there were no signs of civilian deaths, something Britain and the US tried hard to avoid.

He went on to say that by defending international shipping, Britain was defending international law.

After outlining the effects of the Houthi attacks on international shipping and international trade, he concluded by stressing that the “malicious narrative” that the attack on the Houthi is related with Israel and Gaza. “It’s about protecting shipping,” he said.

Finally, he reiterated Britain’s unwavering support for Ukraine, which he himself visited on Friday.

The main opposition Labor leader agreed with the Prime Minister’s decision to give the green light for strikes against the Houthis Sir Keir Starmerspeaking of a “proportionate” reaction to “illegal” actions.

However, he asked to be informed by Mr. Sunak, among other things, what he will do if there are more attacks by the Houthis and whether he intends to request the approval of the Parliament in the event of a military operation lasting in Yemen.

To the latter, Mr. Sunak replied that there was a need for the government to react quickly, but he assured that if there was a possibility of prolonged military involvement, he would follow the precedent of submitting such a proposal to a vote in the House of Commons.

Minority opposition party leaders also agreed with Sunak’s decision on the attacks, but criticized him for not seeking parliamentary approval beforehand.

Some MPs from opposition parties however accused the British Prime Minister of “escalating” the tension surrounding the war in the Middle East with the attacks in Yemen. Mr Sunak countered that the attacks had nothing to do with the war between Israel and Hamas, but were “completely separate”.