UK finance minister says British economy may be impacted by Houthi attacks on Red Sea shipping

By Agencies and ToI Staff 6 January 2024, 10:40 am

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Britain's Chancellor of the Exchequer Jeremy Hunt leaves Downing Street in London, March 8, 2023. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)

Attacks on Red Sea shipping lanes could have an impact on the British economy through rising prices, UK finance minister Jeremy Hunt says.

Asked whether the attacks by Iran-backed Houthi militants in Yemen could mean rising prices in Britain, Hunt told the BBC: “It may have an impact and we’ll watch it very, very carefully.”

Many vessels have been rerouted from the Red Sea due to drone and missile attacks carried out by Houthis rebels in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza, where Israel is battling the Hamas in the wake of the devastating October 7 assault in which terrorists killed some 1,200 people and took approximately 240 hostage to the Strip.