- Boris Johnson tells international conference that Saudi Arabia and Iran have acted as a ‘puppeteers’ in ‘proxy wars.’
- UK has licensed over £3.3 billion worth of arms since Saudi-led bombing of Yemen began in March 2015.
- UK in negotiations to sell new generation of fighter jets to Saudi military, despite abuses.
This morning, the Guardian reported that Boris Johnson has accused Saudi Arabia and Iran of “puppeteering and playing proxy wars.” The comments were made at an international conference last week, with a recording published by the newspaper.
The UK rightly does not arm Iran, but it has consistently given an uncritical political backing to Saudi Arabia, while licensing billions of pounds worth of arms to the regime. This has continued unabated while Saudi Arabia has used UK-made weapons in a bombing campaign which has unleashed a humanitarian catastrophe on Yemen.
Andrew Smith of Campaign Against Arms Trade said:
Boris Johnson’s comments are a clear contrast from his public position, which has been to consistently praise the Saudi regime, despite it being one of the most abusive dictatorships in the world. If he believes them to be puppeteers for proxy wars, then why is he continuing to arm and support them?
Since Saudi Arabia began bombing Yemen last March, the UK has licensed £3.3 billion worth of arms to the regime including:
- £2.2 billion worth of ML10 licences (Aircraft, helicopters, drones)
- £1.1 billion worth of ML4 licences (Grenades, bombs, missiles, countermeasures)
- £430,000 worth of ML6 licences (Armoured vehicles, tanks)
BAE Systems, has reportedly entered talks to sell even more fighter jets to Saudi Arabia. Its efforts are being supported by the UK government.
Andrew continued:
We are always being told that by selling arms and working with human rights abusers we can influence them, but nothing could be further from the truth. Theresa May spent this week in the Gulf legitimising human rights abusers. Their abuses have been fuelled by UK support. UK-made fighter jets and bombs are destroying Yemen, and yet the response has been to turn a blind eye to the atrocities taking place and push for more arms sales.
UK arms sales to Saudi Arabia are currently subject to a judicial review, following an application by CAAT. The claim calls on the government to suspend all extant licences and stop issuing further arms export licences to Saudi Arabia for use in Yemen while it holds a full review into if the exports are compatible with UK and EU legislation. A three day review will take place in front of two judges between 07-09 February 2017..
ENDS
For further information please contact Andrew at media(at)caat·org·uk or call 020 7281 0297 or 07990 673232.
