Yemen bombing: Humza Yousaf says UK Parliament must be recalled over Houthi strikes in Yemen

The RAF took part in military action on Houthi facilities in Yemen after Rishi Sunak held a cabinet meeting

Humza Yousaf says the UK Parliament must be recalled after ministers agreed to push forward with military strikes in Yemen last night.

The First Minister also accused the UK Government of caring more about cargo in the Red Sea than children dying in Gaza. The Royal Air Force launched targeted strikes against military facilities used by Houthi rebels in Yemen overnight.

This is the first time strikes have been launched against the group since it started targeting international shipping in the Red Sea in late 2023.

An image grab taken from a video made available by Yemen's Al-Masirah television shows fire and smoke billowing in Yemen. Picture: Al-Masirah TV/AFP via Getty Images

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak held a full cabinet meeting on Thursday evening to discuss the response to the disruption on the key global shipping route.

In an unusual move he briefed both UK Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer and Shadow Defence Secretary John Healey.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said: “The United Kingdom will always stand up for freedom of navigation and the free flow of trade.”

However MPs won’t be able to debate the military intervention until Monday, as Commons business has finished for the week.

An RAF Typhoon aircraft takes off to join the US led coalition to conduct air strikes against military targets in Yemen. Image: Sergeant Lee Goddard/Ministry of Defence.

The SNP says any military action should be scrutinised in the House of Commons, and the Liberal Democrats have demanded a vote take place.

Writing on X before the strike took place, Mr Yousaf said: “The UK does not have a good record of military intervention in the Middle East.

“It is therefore incumbent that Westminster is recalled, MPs briefed and allowed to debate and scrutinise any decision to pursue military action that the UK Government is proposing.”

Mr Yousaf then said it was “frustrating” he was not briefed on the military action, adding it is “complete fallacy” to believe this intervention has nothing to do with the war in Gaza.

Speaking to BBC Good Morning Scotland after the strike took place, Mr Yousaf said: “I wasn’t briefed even though I asked to be briefed in an official request.

“It is deeply frustrating – I am First Minister and I don’t have any more detail than what is in the press.

“Let there be no equivocation, the SNP aligns ourselves with the UN security resolution calling for Houthi rebels to stop attacks in the Red Sea.”

He said the “correct and appropriate” thing to do now is to recall parliament as there are questions around the UK Government’s end goal of this military intervention.

The First Minister also raised concerns about the impact this may have on the war in Israel and Gaza.

Scottish Greens co-leader Patrick Harvie said: “These are grave and deeply troubling new developments and the Prime Minister must explain his actions. The people of the UK will not stand another government taking it to war in the Middle East, or acting without even observing a basic democratic process.

“The UK Government should not have acted without consulting Parliament and should recall MPs to address the actions that risk destabilising the region further. The public should not have to wait a weekend for answers.

“We should all be deeply troubled by the UK’s history of military interventions in the region, often making matters worse and learn lessons of the past. The situation in the Red Sea is, of course, alarming, but this will increase tensions or widen conflicts further. The critical condition for de-escalating the conflict is an immediate ceasefire and an end to the killing in Gaza.”

The Royal Air Force air defence destroyer HMS Diamond was involved in the response, which the Houthis claim is a response to the Israeli bombardment of Gaza.

Mr Yousaf added: “The UK is suggesting this has nothing to do with the conflict in Israel and Gaza, which is a complete fallacy.

“There are concerns there will be wider regional escalation because of the action that has been taken.

“We align ourselves with calls to stop attacks in the Red Sea, but to suggest this is separate from Israel and Gaza, it will not be seen that way and neither should it.

“We are seeing thousands of children dying daily in Gaza, the latest figures show there are 7,500 who have died.

“I wish the UK Government cared as much about children dying as they did about cargo.”

Last night US military forces, backed by the UK and supported by Australia, Bahrain, Canada and The Netherlands, successfully conducted strikes against a number of targets in Yemen.

In a statement the Ministry of Defence said: “Four RAF Typhoon FGR4s, supported by a Voyager air refuelling tanker, therefore used Paveway IV guided bombs to conduct precision strikes on two of these Houthi facilities.

“One was a site at Bani in north-western Yemen used to launch reconnaissance and attack drones.

“A number of buildings involved in drone operations were targeted by our aircraft.

“The other location struck by our aircraft was the airfield at Abbs.

“Intelligence has shown that it has been used to launch both cruise missiles and drones over the Red Sea.

“Several key targets at the airfield were identified and prosecuted by our aircraft.

“In planning the strikes, particular care was taken to minimise any risks to civilians, and any such risks were mitigated further by the decision to conduct the strikes during the night.

“The detailed results of the strikes are being assessed, but early indications are that the Houthis’ ability to threaten merchant shipping has taken a blow, and our commitment to protecting the sea lanes, through which some 15 per cent of the world’s shipping passes and which is vital to the global economy, has been amply demonstrated.”