The British government has decided not to follow Joe Biden’s announcement of an end to support for the Yemen war and a suspension of arms sales to Saudi Arabia. This means that Britain is now the key western backer of the Saudi led war on Yemen, the most serious hot war anywhere in the world and one that the UN judges to be causing the worst humanitarian catastrophe on earth.
Britain’s isolation is increased by Italy’s recent decision to end the export of bombs to Saudi Arabia. Despite a 2019 court ruling that arms sales to Saudi Arabia are illegal, Britain restarted supplying weapons to Saudi in a trade which between 2010 and 2019 amounted to 40% of all UK arms sales. As well as facilitating this deadly trade, the government admits that the British military trains, advises and gives logistical backing to forces involved in the war.
We believe that the British government must change this shameful policy immediately. Its support for the war is repugnant in itself and is an obstacle to efforts to bring peace. We are calling on everyone who wishes to see an end to this terrible war to lobby their MPs in support of a motion against arms sales and to sign a letter to the Prime Minister demanding an end to British collusion in the carnage in Yemen.