Image source, PA

Humza Yousaf is demanding the recall of Parliament so that MPs can be briefed on the issue of whether to launch strikes against the Houthi rebels, and allowed to scrutinise and debate the proposal.

"The UK does not have a good record of military intervention in the Middle East," Scotland's First Minister wrote on X, formerly Twitter., external

The Westminster leader of the ruling Scottish National Party (SNP) is also calling for more consideration of the issue.

"Based solely upon media reports this is quite clearly a very complex and serious situation that is developing at speed," said Stephen Flynn.

Image source, PA Media

As we've been reporting, the UK and US are said to be considering whether to strike Houthi rebels in Yemen following their repeated attacks against ships in the Red Sea.

British warships have already been sent to the area to help repel attacks, including the HMS Diamond, a Type 45 Destroyer.

The HMS Lancaster has been deployed to the Gulf of Oman - it was already in the Middle East as part of a mission to track down drug smugglers and arms traffickers.

The HMS Richmond was sent in from the UK to offer support to the other ships late last week, the British Navy announced.

As well as the UK ships, there are also a number of US destroyers stationed in the area.

Chris Mason
Political editor

The Speaker of the House of Commons Sir Lindsay Hoyle has just left the Cabinet office on 70 Whitehall.

He told the BBC he was unable to say anything about what he'd been told.

Chris Mason
Political editor

There are clearly concerns about the ramifications that escalation in the Red Sea could have.

Another thing that we know is the Defence Secretary Grant Shapps just yesterday, when asked about the potential prospect of imminent Western military strikes on Houthi targets, said "watch this space".

We know politicians, especially defence secretaries, are schooled in being very careful in what they utter out loud and in ducking questions they would rather not engage with.

Shapps did engage with that and said out loud what was the potential of a relatively imminent prospect.

Tonight there are the beginnings of evidence that the imminence of that has been fast forwarded and could come very soon.

What I'm struck by now is the noises I'm hearing from sources in Westminster appear at this stage to be more advanced than the equivalent in Washington.

The conversation will be very live between London and Washington, but as things stand, the emerging picture from here suggests that the UK is that bit more advanced.

Let's see how the coming hours play out.

Frank Gardner
Security correspondent

The UK, US and their allies are facing a tough choice over whether to attack the Houthi rebels in Yemen.

On the one hand, the West will look weak if it doesn’t do anything – especially after issuing various warnings to the Houthis in response to their recent attacks in the Red Sea.

On the other, there is a risk that any strike will be portrayed throughout the Middle East as the West joining in the Israel-Hamas conflict on Israel’s side.

People will die in the strikes, almost certainly, and they will be called martyrs.

The risk for governments in the region is that any strikes could metastasise tensions in the Middle East - turning them into something bigger than they currently are.

Image source, Getty Images

In a televised speech earlier on Thursday, Houthi leader Abdul Malik al-Houthi said the group would respond if attacked by the US.

"Any American attack will not remain without a response. The response will be greater than the attack that was carried out with twenty drones and a number of missiles," he said, referring to a barrage the group unleashed on Wednesday.

He added: "We are more determined to target ships linked to Israel, and we will not back down from that."

Chris Mason
Political editor

The cabinet conference call has finished.

I am not expecting that we will hear from any government ministers on camera this evening.

Shadow defence secretary John Healey and the Speaker of the Commons Sir Lindsay Hoyle have both been seen entering the Cabinet Office on Whitehall and are yet to leave.

I also understand the Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer will be briefed this evening.

It would be expected that – were time to allow – figures such as Starmer, Hoyle and Healey would be briefed in advance of UK military action.

The Foreign Secretary Lord Cameron was seen going into No 10 Downing Street earlier.

Image source, Getty Images

Downing Street has confirmed that Rishi Sunak spoke to Egypt's President Abdul Fattah al-Sisi this afternoon, and discussed "the concerning rise" in Houthi attacks on commercial vessels in the Red Sea.

A Downing Street spokesperson said they discussed "the disruptive impact on global shipping, including through the Suez Canal".

Sunak said the UK "would continue to take action to defend freedom of navigation and protect lives at sea", they added.

The PM thanked President Sisi for his "continued support on the humanitarian and diplomatic effort in Gaza, including on joint work to secure the release of British hostages and those with links to the UK".

They agreed on the importance of significantly scaling up the aid reaching Palestinians in Gaza and Sunak said the UK was urging Israel to open more land crossings and "to allow in far greater quantities of aid, up to 500 trucks a day".

Chris Mason
Political editor

My understanding is that around about now, in the last 20 minutes or so, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak held a conference call for his Cabinet and there was a briefing there relating to the imminent prospect of the UK being involved in military strikes against the Houthis.

What's happening right now is that other senior parliamentarians are being called in to the government to be briefed - the Speaker of the House of Commons, the leader of the Labour Party and the shadow defence secretary.

We can read into this that it's entirely the prerogative of the British government to embark upon military action that it deems necessary and should happen imminently without consulting Parliament, but it has become convention to often do that.

What we're seeing this evening, it would appear, is a desire on the UK government's part - and here I am extrapolating a little bit on the basis of the facts as we know them - that they want to brief the leader of the opposition and the Speaker in lieu of being able to do anything more substantive with Parliament prior to what looks like the prospect of some sort of imminent strike.

After the start of the war in the Gaza Strip on 7 October, the Houthis - an avowed enemy of Israel - expressed its solidarity with Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups.

Later that month, the Houthis started launching drones and missiles towards southern Israel, which is 1,700km (1,050 miles) from territory they control in north-eastern Yemen. They were shot down by a US warship in the Red Sea. There have been multiple similar attacks since then, but they have largely been thwarted by Israeli or US forces.

On 19 November, the Houthis announced they would also start targeting Israeli-flagged, owned and operated ships in the Red Sea in support of the “oppressed people in Gaza”.

Image source, Houthi military media

Within hours, they confirmed the hijacking of the British-owned and Japanese-operated container ship, Galaxy Leader, falsely claiming that it was “Israeli”.

On 9 December they widened their threats to commercial shipping by vowing to prevent the passage of all vessels heading to Israel, regardless of their nationality.

Global shipping giants reacted to the attacks by diverting vessels away from the Red Sea and using the much longer route around the southern tip of Africa instead.

Labour's shadow defence secretary John Healey and House of Commons Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle have arrived at the Cabinet Office - the UK department tasked with supporting the prime minister - to be briefed about what was discussed in the meeting with senior members of the government.

As we've been reporting, UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has been holding a conference call with his cabinet about the likelihood of British and US military strikes against the Houthis in Yemen.

Image source, Getty Images

Pentagon spokesperson Brig Gen Pat Ryder has declined to comment on reports coming out of the UK of potential action against Houthi rebels at a news conference in Washington DC.

"I'm not going to telegraph, forecast or speculate on any potential future operations," Gen Ryder told reporters.

"And I think that statement from multiple nations when it comes to the fact that there will be consequences – should the attacks not stop – speaks for itself. And I'll just leave it at that."

Image source, Getty Images

The US Central Command (Centcom) says Houthi rebels have carried out their 27th attack on commercial shipping lanes in the Red Sea since 19 November.

Centcom says at around 02:30 Yemeni time on Thursday, the Iranian-backed Houthis fired “an anti-ship ballistic missile from Houthi-controlled areas in Yemen” into international shipping lanes in the Gulf of Aden.

One commercial ship saw the missile hit the water and no injuries or damage have been reported, it adds.

The Iranian-backed Houthis, who control their country's Red Sea coastline, have not been backing down in the face of international pressure.

Chris Mason
Political editor

The BBC understands the UK Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer and the Shadow Defence Secretary John Healey are to be briefed by the government shortly after the cabinet call.

We are also told the Speaker of the Commons, Sir Lindsay Hoyle, will be briefed this evening as well.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is briefing his cabinet now and the BBC understands it relates to potential US and UK strikes against Houthi rebels in Yemen.

Houthi forces have been attacking ships in the Red Sea since November, launching more than 100 drone and missile attacks on vessels passing through the vital shipping lane.

The Iranian-backed rebel group controls a large part of Yemen and has previously claimed its attacks are directed at vessels linked to Israel, in response to the war in Gaza.

Their attacks on cargo ships in the Red Sea have led many of the world's biggest shipping companies to announce they will avoid the area.

In response, the US has launched an international naval operation to protect ships. Countries including the UK, Canada, France, Bahrain, Norway and Spain have joined.

• Read more here.

Chris Mason
Political editor

Image source, Getty Images

UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is due to brief his cabinet shortly about the likelihood of British and US military strikes against the Houthis in Yemen.

The PM will hold a conference call with the cabinet tonight, and other senior Westminster figures not in government are expecting to be briefed shortly after.

UK Defence Secretary Grant Shapps said yesterday that the world should “watch this space” when asked about western strikes against Houthi targets.

A briefing at the Pentagon in Washington is also getting under way.

The Iran-backed Houthi rebels have been targeting Israeli-owned or Israel-bound vessels to show their support for the Iran-backed Palestinian group Hamas since the start of the war in Gaza in October.

Matt Murphy
Live editor, BBC News

Hello and welcome to our live coverage of ongoing attacks on shipping in the Red Sea.

White House national security spokesman John Kirby has just addressed the media about attacks by Yemen's Houthi rebels on shipping in the region.

Kirby says: “The Houthis need to stop these attacks – and they will bear the consequences of not doing so.

“We're going to do what we have to do to counter these threats.”

He says the US will continue to consult with its allies and partners about next steps.

Stay with us as we bring you the latest.