UK colluding in Saudi war crimes, says Corbyn
BRITAIN: Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn has accused the British government of colluding in war crimes committed by Saudi forces in Yemen, prompting a furious response from Downing Street.
As Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman began a three-day visit to Britain yesterday, Corbyn used prime minister’s questions in Parliament to attack Prime Minister Theresa May for co-operating with the Saudi regime, claiming British armed forces personnel were ‘‘directing’’ the conflict in Yemen.
Downing Street reacted angrily, saying Corbyn’s allegation was ‘‘simply not true’’.
Corbyn told the House of Commons: ‘‘A humanitarian disaster is now taking place in Yemen. Millions face starvation and 600,000 children have cholera because of the Saudi-led bombing campaign and the blockade. Germany has suspended arms sales to Saudi Arabia, but British arms sales have increased sharply and British military advisers are directing the war. It cannot be right that the government is colluding in what the United Nations says is evidence of war crimes.’’
Saudi forces aligned with Yemen’s government have been fighting Houthi rebels backed by Iran since 2015. As well as being the de facto Saudi leader, the prince has been the country’s defence minister for the duration of the conflict.
May told Corbyn that she was ‘‘concerned about the appalling humanitarian situation in Yemen’’, adding that the British government was ‘‘the third-largest humanitarian donor to Yemen’’. She said Saudi ‘‘involvement in Yemen came at the request of the legitimate government of Yemen. It is backed by the United Nations Security Council, and as such we support it’’.
A Downing Street source said Corbyn’s comments were ‘‘unacceptable’’, and called on him to retract them.
May’s official spokesman said: ‘‘British personnel are not involved in carrying out strikes, directing or conducting operations in Yemen, and are not involved in the Saudi targeting and decisionmaking process.’’
Britain has had a long-standing involvement in training Saudi forces.
Corbyn’s spokesman later redoubled Labour’s attack, claiming that British personnel had helped to target schools and should be held accountable for the ‘‘very large numbers of children’’ killed or injured by Saudi air strikes.
‘‘Targeting of civilian infrastructure, hospitals and schools – which has happened on a large scale in Yemen – is a war crime,’’ he said.
Corbyn opened the questions by criticising the Saudi regime’s human rights record. May responded, in a reference to counterterrorism co-operation, that Britain’s relationship with Saudi Arabia ‘‘has potentially saved the lives of hundreds of people in this country’’.
The prince had lunch with the Queen at Buckingham Palace yesterday before meeting May and Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson and having dinner with the Prince of Wales and the Duke of Cambridge at Clarence House.
After the Downing Street meeting, a spokesman said May had welcomed reforms in Saudi Arabia such as women being allowed to drive. The prime minister and the prince were also briefed by British officials on Yemen, and May ‘‘raised our deep concerns at the humanitarian situation’’, he said.
The prince was met by protesters, ranging from the Campaign Against the Arms Trade group to Gulf Arabs with grievances against Saudi Arabia’s rulers. One man was arrested for throwing an egg at the prince’s convoy.
The prince was to spend yesterday at Chequers, the prime minister’s country house, where he was to meet British business leaders.