Boris Johnson under pressure over arms sales to Saudi Arabia following 2016 Yemen bombing that killed civilians
- The Saudi-led coalition has been repeatedly accused of bombing indiscriminately during the Yemeni civil war
- Johnson is the front runner to become the Conservative leader and therefore the next British prime minister
Campaigners accused the then foreign secretary of showing a “total disregard” for Yemeni civilians by allowing the sales, revealed for the first time in emails disclosed via a freedom of information request.
A day after the sale was recommended for approval by Johnson in August 2016, a village school in Yemen was hit by another deadly air strike, prompting further complaints that the UK is complicit in breaches of international humanitarian law.
UK arms controls mean that the foreign secretary has to be consulted on whether the Department for International Trade should licence “precision guided weapons systems and munitions that are likely to be used by the Saudi Royal Air Force in Yemen”.
An email dated August 12, 2016 to the Export Control Joint Unit, responsible for licensing UK arms deals, says that Johnson “was content” to advise that the licensing of components for Paveway bombs should go ahead.
A few days earlier, on August 9, the Saudi-led coalition resumed air strikes on Sana’a at the end of a ceasefire that had held since April. Reports at the time said that more than half of those killed in the strike were women.
Andrew Smith of Campaign Against Arms Trade accused the Conservative MP of showing a lack of compassion: “For Boris Johnson to approve a missile sale the day after a food factory was destroyed shows the total disregard that he and his colleagues hold for the rights and lives of Yemeni people.”
A day after the approval email was sent, on August 13, a village school in the Sa’ada province was hit by an air strike, which killed 10 children and injured 20.