PM To Deliver Statement On Houthi Airstrikes ~1530GMT

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is set to deliver a statement to the House of Commons later today at around 1530GMT (1030ET, 1630CET) outlining his reasons for joining in with US air strikes on Houthi rebels in Yemen. The airstrikes on 11 Jan came in response to months of aerial and seaborne attacks on shipping in and around the Red Sea. The Houthi leadership claims the attacks are coming in response to Israel's war against Hamas in Gaza, but the US and its allies have indicated their suspicions that Iran, which bankrolls the Houthis, has played a major role in their tactics.

• Comes as UK Defence Secretary Grant Shapps says that the gov't will "wait and see" on further strikes, saying "Let's wait and see what happens, because it's not that we want to be involved in action in the Red Sea. But ultimately freedom of navigation is an international right that must be protected,"
• Overnight, the UK gov't confirmed that it would be sending 20k troops to participate in one of the largest NATO exercises since the end of the Cold War.