FOREIGN Secretary Philip Hammond hinted at further British military involvement in the Middle East yesterday during a visit to the region to drum up support for action in Syria and Yemen.

Mr Hammond is currently touring the Gulf states where he will meet UN special envoy to Yemen Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed to discuss Britain’s role in the peace process.

But human rights campaigners hit out at Mr Hammond for government refusals to stop selling arms to Saudi Arabia, despite the monarchy allegedly dropping banned cluster bombs on civilian areas in Yemen.