UK rolls out red carpet for Saudi crown prince amid protests

LONDON: Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II welcomed Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Salman at the start of a controversial state visit where he faces questions over Riyadh’s involvement in the Yemen war.

The crown prince lunched with the queen at Buckingham Palace ahead of talks with Prime Minister Theresa May, but his arrival drew protests on the streets of London over the brutal Yemen conflict.

May defended the invitation when she was grilled in parliament over why Prince Mohammed was being afforded the red carpet treatment during his three-day visit.

“The link with Saudi Arabia we have is historic, it is an important one and it has saved the lives of potentially hundreds of people in this country” due to anti-terrorism cooperation, she told MPs.

“Their involvement in Yemen came at the request of the legitimate government of the Yemen, it is backed by the UN Security Council and as such we support it.”

The three-year conflict, which began with the Saudi-led intervention to fight Iran-backed Huthi rebels, has left 22.2 million people dependent on food aid, according to UN figures.

The Save the Children charity protested the visit by installing a statue of a child near parliament “to draw attention to the violence that is being fuelled, in part, by British-made bombs”.

Around 200 demonstrators also lined up outside Downing Street, where the crown prince visited May. — AFP