Despite the US, UK and 10 other states issuing a joint statement, warning the Houthis against attacking shipping vessels in the Red Sea, Grant Shapps said the rebel group "chose to ignore it". "And enough was enough," he told defense officials, MPs and journalists about the UK's decision to join US strikes on Houthi locations in Yemen. He and Prime Minister Rishi Sunak chose to authorize the strikes, without a debate in Parliament, Shapps says, and the "result is the Houthis have been dealt a blow". Shapps wrapped this into the wider message of his speech by saying this, as well as UK support of Ukraine, is the blueprint of how the UK must lead in the future: When asked whether the UK plans to take military action against the Houthis again, Shapps said, Britain is a "guardian of international free trade." The Cabinet minister added that the government will now "monitor [the situation] very carefully" to see what the Houthis do next. He said the ships being attacked in the Red Sea have "nothing to do with the Israel-Gaza conflict" — despite the Houthis repeatedly claiming they are targeting vessels heading to, or owned by, Israel, as an act of solidarity with the people of Gaza. Shapps also said that American and British officials gave the Iranian-backed Houthis "every possible warning to cease and desist", with "direct and indirect" messaging. The attacks are "unacceptable" and "cannot continue", he said, repeating some of what he said in his speech while outlining why his government thought it was crucial to join US strikes on Houthi targets in Yemen. The UK defense secretary said it was important to secure international free trade by protecting ships sailing through the Red Sea. So far, Tesla and Volvo have suspended some of their car production, UK grocery giant Tesco has warned some prices may go up and Ikea has said supplies could be affected. QatarEnergy has also said it is pausing shipping through the Red Sea. These are some of the effects this disruption in the Red Sea — specifically the Bab Al-Mandab Strait, a vital trade route — is having around the world. Also, inflation is at risk of rising again, according to leading economist Mohamed El-Erian, who said disruption to shipments is not as severe as during COVID — but it will still push up prices and hit economic growth. "Relative to what would have happened otherwise, we will see higher inflation, higher mortgage rates and lower growth," Dr. El-Erian, president of Queens' College, Cambridge and chief economic adviser at financial services giant Allianz, told the BBC's Today program earlier. Around 12-15% of global trade travels through the Red Sea via the Bab Al-Mandab Strait — a 20-mile wide channel that splits Eritrea and Djibouti on the African side and Yemen on the Arabian Peninsula — and the Suez Canal. Major shipping firms are now re-routing their vessels around Africa's Cape of Good Hope, which can add 12 days for cargo traveling between Singapore and northern Europe. — BBC
