- Protest outside Downing Street from 5pm today against Saudi Crown Prince visit
- UK has licensed £4.6 billion worth of arms to Saudi Arabia since bombing of Yemen began in March 2015
- Recent poll shows that only 6% of UK supports arms sales to Saudi Arabia
This evening from 5pm, a protest will be taking place outside Downing Street against the ongoing UK visit of the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, Mohammad Bin Salman. The protest will include speeches from a range of campaigners and MPs. Speeches are expected to start around 5.30.
UK government statistics show that since the bombardment began in 2015, the UK has licensed £4.6 billion worth of arms to Saudi Arabia, including:
- £2.7 billion worth of ML10 licences (Aircraft, helicopters, drones)
- £1.9 billion worth of ML4 licences (Grenades, bombs, missiles, countermeasures)
A recent poll of 2000 adults, carried out by Populus for Campaign Against Arms Trade, found that only 6% of people in the UK support arms sales to Saudi Arabia.
Andrew Smith of Campaign Against Arms Trade said:
Theresa May might believe the Crown Prince’s ridiculous claims that he is a reformist and a force for liberalism, but people in the UK are not so easily convinced. This visit is being done to legitimise a brutal dictatorship and to sell arms.
The Crown Prince is the public face of a regime that routinely tortures and abuses its own citizens and has killed thousands of people in Yemen. We are protesting to send the message loudly and clearly that he is not welcome.
The protest has been called by a coalition of groups, including: Arab Organisation for Human Rights in the UK, Bahrain Institute for Rights & Democracy, Bahrain Opposition Bloc, Campaign Against Arms Trade, Global Justice Now, Human Rights for Yemen, Iraqi Democrats, Sheba for Democracy and Human Rights, Stop the War Coalition and War on Want.
ENDS
For further information, or to see a breakdown of polling, please contact Andrew at media(at)caat·org·uk or call 020 7281 0297.
