This week, Britain announced it would send fighter jets to support Saudi Arabia's war in Yemen.

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The jets will fly what the Ministry of Defence calls "defensive" missions against Ansar Allah, commonly known as the Houthis, which control territory home to most of Yemen's population. Since September, an RAF tanker has also flown at least 14 missions refuelling Saudi warplanes.

Britain has long backed Saudi Arabia, whose forces have fought Ansar Allah since 2015 without defeating it. In September, the MoD said RAF refuelling supported Saudi “defensive activity”. But the government now says British refuelling supports Saudi air operations, including air strikes on Yemen.

The government says its support for Saudi Arabia is about keeping prices down at home. Yet in the same announcement, it admitted that escalating violence risks further "driving up the cost of living". The Iran war has already pushed up oil prices. So why is Britain deepening its involvement? By its own logic, the UK risks escalating a volatile war of Saudi Arabia's own choosing and making the cost of living crisis harder to tackle.

On top of that, the latest escalation began with Saudi Arabia and its allies. The Saudi-led coalition kept Sanaa........

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