Campaign Against Arms Trade (CAAT) has received police permission for a demonstration on the Mall as the Saudi dictator King Abdullah rides in ceremony towards Buckingham Palace tomorrow morning. Peaceful demonstrators including activist comedian Mark Thomas will assemble in the Mall at 11.15am to call for the reopening of a Serious Fraud Office investigation into the Saudi regime’s arms deals with BAE Systems.
The news follows a string of criticisms of King Abdullah’s state visit by a range of public figures including the Liberal Democrats’ acting leader Vince Cable, the Labour MP John McDonnell and human rights campaigner Peter Tatchell. CAAT is concerned that the arms trade leads to BAE and the Saudi regime exerting undemocratic influence on the UK Government.
CAAT spokesperson Symon Hill said:
It seems that the only people in the UK who still support Abdullah’s visit are BAE Systems and their friends in Government. The British public do not want the UK to be subservient to a brutal dictatorship for the sake of the arms trade. It’s time for Gordon Brown to put human rights and the public interest ahead of BAE’s profits.
ENDS
Notes
- 1. Campaign Against Arms Trade (CAAT) works for the reduction and ultimate abolition of the international arms trade.
- 2. The demonstration, which will be lawful and strictly nonviolent, will begin at 11.15 am tomorrow (30.10.07) in an area of the Mall designated by the police (approximately opposite the junction with Horseguards Parade).
- 3. In December 2006, the Government and the Serious Fraud Office announced that they were suspending an investigation into BAE Systems’ arms deals with Saudi Arabia. CAAT and The Corner House, an environmental and social justice NGO, have lodged grounds for a judicial review of this decision. They will appear in court for permission to proceed with the judicial review on 9th November 2007.
- 4. Spokespeople for CAAT are available for interview.
Media Contact
Symon Hill
020 7281 0297 or 07990 673232
