Labour MP Says RAF Training Of Saudi Pilots Is A 'Shameful Use Of Our Military'

A Labour MP has said the RAF's training of Saudi pilots is a "shameful use of our military".

Ilford South MP Sam Tarry made the comment during a Commons debate on Yemen which has been ravaged by an ongoing civil war for five years.

The Government was heavily criticised for continuing to sell arms to Saudi Arabia during the debate.

Thousands of people have been killed in the conflict, which pitches Iran-backed Houthi rebels against a coalition led by Saudi Arabia in support of the internationally recognised government of Yemen.

"Just yesterday, a declassified UK investigation revealed the RAF is training Saudi pilots on UK soil, equipping them with the destructive skills they need to bomb, maim and murder innocent civilians," Mr Tarry said.

"This is a dark day indeed for the RAF."

Mr Tarry also said: "It’s the view of many constituents in Ilford South that this Government should hang its head in shame at its central role in helping to create the world’s worst humanitarian crisis by training, equipping and enabling the Saudi regime to bomb innocent Yemeni civilians.

"In the past five years alone, Britain has licenced almost £5 billion worth of arms, mainly in the form of bombs and planes, to Saudi Arabia.

"In that same period, 60% of all civilian deaths in Yemen have been caused by the Saudi-led coalition’s bombing.

"Even moderate estimates put the number of deaths from Saudi airstrikes at more than 12,000."

Labour MP Claudia Webbe also criticised the arms sales and the UK's military support to Saudi Arabia.

She told MPs: "[The] UK supplies weapons and crucial military support to the Saudi-led coalition which is responsible for the highest number of reported civilian fatalities.

"The UN has verified the deaths of at least 7,700 civilians since 2015, although some estimates are much higher, and found that 60% of these were due to bombing raids by the Saudi-led coalition."

The Government has rejected criticism of its arms sales.

Opening the debate in the Commons, Conservative former minister and Secretary of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Yemen, Tim Loughton, said more than 250,000 Yemenis have died since 2015, including 100,000 as a result of combat and 130,000 from hunger and disease.

He praised the UK’s aid contribution, adding a "sustainable" ceasefire is required for progress to be made.

Mr Loughton said: "A catalogue of abuse, devastation, destruction and mistrust on all sides, goes on."

The situation in Yemen has been described by the United Nations as the world's biggest humanitarian crisis.

Yara Khawaja, from the International Committee of the Red Cross, told Forces News: "80% of the Yemenis are in need of humanitarian aid. 17 million of them do not have access to clean water.

"More than 20 million Yemenis are suffering [due to lack of] food and security."

"Entire families, they live in their cars now in Yemen because they cannot have a roof on top of their heads," she added.

Despite the calls for the Government to stop the sales, Andrew Smith from the Campaign Against Arms Trade, told Forces News he does not see anything changing imminently.  

"Part of what will be incentivised in Government is the money that’s on the line for arms companies," he said.

A Government spokesperson said: “The UK is doing all it can to help end the devastating conflict in Yemen by putting our full weight behind the UN-led peace process.

“Both UK and foreign Pilots under training routinely utilise a variety of airspace and airports across the whole of the UK depending on the stage of their training.”