Sir Keir Starmer and Lord Cameron put on a united front on Sunday, insisting not acting against Houthi rebels disrupting shipping in the Red Sea was not an option.
The Labour leader and foreign secretary took to the airwaves to insist Britain’s strikes in Yemen were necessary after weeks of escalating attacks on cargo ships.
And the pair left the door open to further action against Houthi targets in Yemen, with Lord Cameron saying it is “incredibly important that [the Houthis] understand” more strikes could be launched.
The interventions came after two days of strikes against rebel-controlled sites in Yemen, with the US launching a “follow-on action” against a Houthi radar site.
In the early hours of Friday morning, in response to weeks of drone and missile attacks on commercial ships in the strategically crucial Red Sea, US and UK warplanes, ships and submarines hit 28 locations and struck more than 60 targets.
The Hamas-backing Houthis claim they are only targeting vessels linked to Israel in one of the world’s busiest shipping routes, because of the war in Gaza.
A spokesman for the Yemeni armed forces in the Houthi-controlled north of the country said the bombardment “will not go unanswered and unpunished”. The spokesman added that strikes will not deter their support for Palestinians amid Israel’s war in Gaza.
But Lord Cameron denied any link between the war in Gaza and the Red Sea attacks, telling Sky News the action was “completely separate”.
And he went further, saying Britain is prepared to take further action in Yemen if attacks continue.
He said: “We have sent the clearest possible message to the Houthis that their behaviour is unacceptable, and we’ve demonstrated that we’re prepared to follow words and warnings with action.
“And that is incredibly important that they understand that.”
Writing in The Independent, Sir Keir had backed the government’s action in Yemen and denounced Iran for “sponsoring terrorism”.
He supported Rishi Sunak for sending British forces into action against Houthi militants and acting in the “national interest”.
And on Sunday morning, the Labour leader promised to “look at the case the government puts forward” for any further strikes.
He told the BBC’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg there needs to be a debate in parliament on Monday about the military operation that has taken place.
“I will have to listen carefully to whatever the government says about any further action that may be needed,” he said.
Lord Cameron hit back at critics, after thousands gathered across the country to call for a ceasefire in Gaza and rally against the strikes in Yemen, saying Britain needed to send “ a very unambiguous message that we are prepared to follow our words and warnings with actions”.
“not acting is also a policy, and it wasn’t working,” the foreign secretary said.
He described how ongoing attacks on commercial vessels since mid-November have been getting worse and more frequent.
An RAF Voyager aircraft taking off from RAF Akrotiri to conduct strikes against military targets in Yemen
