Grant Shapps has insisted the Red Sea shipping crisis has not escalated amid plans to send a new warship to the region, while also playing down recruitment issues in the Royal Navy.The Defence Secretary told MPs that HMS Richmond, a type 23 frigate, is only being deployed to the Gulf region to replace British vessels already patrolling the Red Sea.The UK has already sent HMS Diamond and HMS Lancaster to the region to protect container ships from assaults by the Houthis, an Iran-backed militant g

Grant Shapps has insisted the Red Sea shipping crisis has not escalated amid plans to send a new warship to the region, while also playing down recruitment issues in the Royal Navy.The Defence Secretary told MPs that HMS Richmond, a type 23 frigate, is only being deployed to the Gulf region to replace British vessels already patrolling the Red Sea.The UK has already sent HMS Diamond and HMS Lancaster to the region to protect container ships from assaults by the Houthis, an Iran-backed militant group from Yemen which has disrupted and attacked trade vessels trying to pass through the region in recent weeks.