It is a time for action. A time to do something

The nation is, of course, agog as Theresa May practises in the mirror for her G20 debut.

She is probably not one for the giggling selfies with Barack.

Probably more about the firm-jawed, steely- eyed resolve that her people say will spell r- e-s-p- e-c-t on the world stage.

She will, we are told, be giving the hardword to President Xi Jinping tomorrow and the hard-stare to Vladimir Putin today.

After delaying approval for the Hinkley Point nuclear power plant because of her concerns around China’s involvement apparently, the Prime Minister is, at least, not repeating George Osborne’s awful grand kowtow to Beijing.

But if May really wants to do something useful on the world stage?

If she really wants to show that she is building positions of firm principle on the shifting sands of international diplomacy?

If she really wants to do more than find her place in the big team line-up picture?

Then she could have done it long before packing her bags for China.

She could have read the intelligence on what is happening in Yemen, the carnage in civi l ian neighbourhoods, the colleges bombed, the homes blitzed, the 10,000 innocents killed in 18 months, some of them bur ied in bui ldings rubbled by bombs made in Britain.

And she could have said enough is enough.

She could have said it does not matter if our decision to back the international coalition against the rebels means we are on the right side, although in this stricken region, shrouded in the fog of war, we have no great record in choosing our friends or our foes.

She could say that it does not matter if rebels are hiding behind human shields, as the Saudis leading the aerial bombardment, rightly or wrongly, insist.

That is why it is called a human shield. Indiscriminate bombing of family homes and public buildings kills indiscriminately. That’s a war crime and, whatever the rights and wrongs of this conflict, that makes us the bad guys.

She could say that all British arms sales to Saudi are frozen and demand a proper assessment of the mounting and compelling evidence of alleged war crimes inflicted by a British-backed coalition dropping Britishmade bombs on defenceless men, women and children.

Or she could, of course, see nothing, say nothing and do nothing. Like her ministers, like her government.

The PM could read the reports from Yemen and say enough. This ends now

Have a good trip to China, Prime Minister. But when you return? Do one thing. Do the right thing.