Last month, I asked the government this parliamentary question: "Whether they have suspended or revoked any extant arms licences to Saudi Arabia, or refused any new requests for licences for ... military arms and equipment?" The FCO minister, Lord Maude, replied with candid arrogance that, "Since 2014 there have been no suspensions, no revocations and no refusals for licences for bombs, missiles or other military arms and equipment." He went on to say that the "Saudi authorities have their own procedures for investigations" and "the UK operates one of the most robust arms control regimes in the world".
That response confirms Owen Jones’ assertion (Britain is at war. So why does nobody know about it?, 28 January) that "Britain is at war" - the UK’s huge, continuing supply of weapons puts our country in the war, and answers his question, "So why does nobody know about it?". The government’s smug complicity subdues the truth about that involvement. The UN, Médecins Sans Frontières, Amnesty, Human Rights Watch and others have exposed the realities of 8,000 civilian casualties and "humanitarian catastrophe" in Yemen. Save the Children, Oxfam and Unicef have urged an independent inquiry into Saudi actions. Their attacks, using British-supplied weapons, are inevitably smashing projects funded by £80m of British aid to Yemen. Surely the "value for money" rhetoric of the UK government should prompt policy change towards Saudi Arabia, even if morality and law manifestly don’t.
• Jeremy Corbyn is right to call for an independent inquiry into British arms sales to Saudi Arabia (Britain’s role in Yemen attacks under scrutiny, 28 January). This must not be the only subject of the inquiry, however. The complete nature of Britain’s relationship with Saudi Arabia must be dragged into the light - especially the role British military advisers are playing in Saudi Arabia’s campaign in Yemen.
Even if those advisers prove to have nothing to do with Saudi attacks against civilians, their being present when those attacks were planned and executed makes them complicit. It is a stain upon the honour of the British military, but worse, it has become something that the government clearly wishes the public to be kept in the dark about. The inquiry is needed not only to establish the truth but to restore public trust.
• When Vincent Cable was secretary of state for business, innovation and skills and my MP for Twickenham, I told him of my objection to him licensing the sale of arms to the appalling regime in Saudi Arabia. He replied that if we did not do this someone else would. This epitomises the value-free philosophy that seems to underlie much of the UK’s present foreign policy. Having invaded and ruined Iraq, waged war in Afghanistan, bombed Libya and had a plea from the prime minister to bomb Syria, the extent of our involvement in the war in Yemen is now becoming public knowledge. Is this bombastic militarism on the part of our leaders an expression of the will of the people? I do not believe so. Normal people want peace; not only here but also around the world.
