Downing Street is scrambling. Three Britons are unaccounted for after a US naval strike hit an Indian-flagged tanker in the Gulf of Oman. The operation, aimed at Iranian-backed Houthi rebels, went catastrophically wrong.
Sources in the Ministry of Defence confirm the vessel was not the intended target. The US Navy has acknowledged 'collateral damage'. Initial reports from the region suggest the tanker, the MV Ocean Jewel, was mistaken for a Houthi supply ship. It wasn't.
The Foreign Office has activated its crisis response team. Calls are being made to Washington. But the damage is done. Three British families are waiting for news.
This is a political minefield. Labour is already demanding a full parliamentary statement. Backbenchers are restless. The government's alliance with US operations in the region is under scrutiny.
The timing is terrible. The Prime Minister is already fighting for political survival after the Rwanda rebellion. Now this. A diplomatic incident with India is also brewing. The tanker was Indian-owned. New Delhi is angry.
The Navy insists the strike was 'precision-guided'. Precision isn't the word being used in Whitehall. There will be inquiries. Heads may roll.
For now, the focus is on the missing. Their names are being withheld pending next of kin. But the clock is ticking. In the Gulf, search operations continue.
Behind the scenes, the whispering has started. Was the intelligence faulty? Was it a rogue operation? The US has offered its 'full cooperation'. That's Whitehall speak for 'we're in damage control'.
The Prime Minister's spokesman is playing it safe. 'We are urgently seeking further information.' No comment on the US role. Not yet.
But the lobby knows. This will dominate the weekend papers. The government's narrative of a 'successful operation' against the Houthis is now in tatters.
Expect recriminations. Expect leaks. The game is on.
