Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what diplomatic steps he is taking to help ensure access to shipping routes in the Red Sea.

The UK and our partners have collectively sent an unambiguous message: the Houthis' attacks on shipping are illegal, dangerous, and destabilising, and we are determined to put a stop to them.

The Foreign Secretary and I continue to work closely with regional and international partners to increase pressure on the Houthis. We remain supportive of US action to degrade Houthi capability and welcome the continued operation of the EU's Operation ASPIDES.

We will always defend the principle of freedom of navigation and British lives at sea.