The interventions by the UK's armed forces in the Middle East this week have been compared to protecting Atlantic convoys in the Second World War and airstrikes against Islamic State.

Earlier this week in the Red Sea, crews on the Royal Navy's HMS Diamond shot down seven drones launched by Iranian-backed Houthi fighters, the first time a UK vessel has had to defend itself in years, military ****** ysts say.Overnight, Britain's armed forces were busy elsewhere in the region, striking Houthi targets inside Yemen in cooperation with the US and other coalition nations.