LABOUR’S Shadow Health Secretary Wes Streeting has dismissed critics of its support for military action against the Houthis in Yemen who are “threatening the world economy”.
He told GB News: “The provocation is obviously on the part of the Houthis. They are the ones that chose to attack commercial shipping and, perhaps even more seriously, chose to attack HMS Diamond, one of our own vessels carrying serving personnel who are there to protect Britain and keep us out of harm’s way.
“The action the Government’s taken is the right action, it is the same action Keir Starmer would have taken if he were in Number 10 and Keir Starmer has been clear about that.
“Keir Starmer, be in no doubt, is speaking on behalf of the vast majority of the Labour Party. There are one or two colleagues who’ve criticised but Keir Starmer speaks for the Labour Party.”
In a discussion with Camilla Tominey, he continued: “It is the Houthis that have been provocative. They have attacked not just British personnel and a British ship, but they’ve attacked British interests.
“We should be in no doubt whatsoever, particularly against the economic backdrop this country faces, that their actions in the Red Sea are threatening the world economy…
“There will always be circumstances in which the Government has to act quickly and decisively and without reference to Parliament. And that’s why Keir Starmer would have made exactly the same decision in these circumstances.
“The Government did, to be fair to them, brief the opposition before action took place, as well as the Speaker of the House of Commons and the Prime Minister’s coming to the House of Commons on Monday.”
He added “So while we criticise the Prime Minister for many aspects of his domestic record, we don’t go out of our way to destroy the government for the sake of it, especially when it comes to when you want to try and speak with one voice as a country.”
