RAF pilots were put at risk when a White House group chat on Yemen was leaked, a former head of the Army has said.

Precise plans for air strikes on Houthi rebels were discussed by senior US officials in a secret chat that was accidentally shared with a reporter before the strikes.

Lord Dannatt, a former head of the Army, told The Telegraph that because the RAF provided routine support, the leak would “undoubtedly” have put British personnel at “higher risk”.

A British Voyager plane was used to refuel the US jets defending the aircraft carrier that launched the strikes, in which more than 50 people died, on March 15.

The plane flew from the RAF airbase in Akritori, Cyprus, to assist aircraft protecting the USS Truman in the Red Sea.