UK Mirror: Britain sought to conclude secret weapons deals with Saudi Arabia after the murdur of Khashoggi

SANAA, Jan. 2  (YPA) – The British government secretly sought to conclude arms deals with Saudi Arabia in the weeks following the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, despite its official condemnation of his murder,  the UK Mirror Daily Newspaper reported on Tuesday.

The newspaper said that British officials promoting arms exports continued to meet at high levels with their Saudi counterparts, while calling on the Government of the United Kingdom to uncover the ambiguity of the killing of the Saudi journalist.

The Newspaper said that a senior delegation from the Organization for defense and Security, the British Department of Commerce responsible for arms exports from British companies, visited the Saudi capital of Riyadh secretly on the day of the murder of Khashoggi, 2 October.

The delegation included the interim head of the mission of the Organization for Defence and Security in the Middle East, the Military adviser and the Royal Air Force Marshall, Nigel Maddox, it added.

Andrew Smith, of Campaign Against Arms Trade, said: “There is a rank hypocrisy at the heart of the Government’s foreign policy.

As Jeremy Hunt was in the House of Commons condemning the murder, while there were UK officials in Riyadh seeking to conclude more arms deals.

The Foreign Minister then canceled a planned visit to Riyadh by the trade minister, but Liam Fox did not disclose meetings on arms deals.

Even before the announcement of the murder of Khashoggi, the British government was widely criticized for supplying arms to Saudi Arabia due to its involvement in the war on Yemen.

“From the beginning of the war, the United Kingdom’s arms exports to Saudi Arabia amounted to 4.7 billion pounds sterling, making it the largest purchaser of the British weapon,” the Independent newspaper said.

E.M