Defending the UK and Allies Debate

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Department: Cabinet Office

Defending the UK and Allies

Tim Loughton Excerpts
Monday 15th January 2024

(10 months, 1 week ago)

Commons Chamber
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Rishi Sunak Portrait The Prime Minister
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It would not be right to speculate on future action, but what I can say is that our strikes were intended to degrade the Houthi capability and, as I said, they did—initial assessments show that they effectively destroyed 13 targets at two sites, including drones, an airfield and a cruise missile launcher.

Tim Loughton Portrait Tim Loughton (East Worthing and Shoreham) (Con)
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As co-chair of the all-party parliamentary group for Yemen with my hon. Friend the Member for Meon Valley (Mrs Drummond), we have seen at first hand how this brutal, misogynistic, homophobic and antisemitic terrorist regime, backed by Iran, presiding over the world’s greatest humanitarian crisis and responsible for throwing tens of thousands of young men to their deaths on the frontline, have acted. Since 2022, they have benefited from a tentative ceasefire. Is this not a lesson in how sustainable ceasefires cannot be achieved with terrorist organisations unless and until they have been deprived of their arms and have succumbed to democratic legitimacy?

Rishi Sunak Portrait The Prime Minister
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I thank and pay tribute to my hon. Friend for his work on Yemen. I say very simply that I agree with him and he makes an excellent point.