Should UK be urging arms sales to Saudi?

So we all think this is a good idea? Telling another country what to do? All the Leavers out there ..isn't that what you don't like about Brussels?

Could be seen simply as a discussion between allies.
Let's hope that Hunt listens and is persuaded to follow Germany's example!

Whilst I abhor the weapons trade, and I do understand that having them can be a deterrent, some are obviously used in conflict.

Can we as a country unilaterally stop manufacturing armaments and consequently put thousands of people out of work which added to the current job losses would be catastrophic for many families in the UK

Difficult moral question GG13 as yes, many jobs depend upon the arms trade. But, let's not forget that we are supplying most of the arms to Saudi which are then being dropped on children in Yemen. We should not be interfering in business or moral decisions made by Germany.

GillT57 it is a moral dilemma definitely.

The Yemen Saudi conflict is so sad, as are all conflicts.

Governments worldwide have always given their opinions to others, not just confined to ours.

The problem is the vicious circle though isn't it.

The Yemin Government are at war with the Yemini Houthis.

The Yemen government asked Saudi Arabia for help.

Yemin has Saudi weapons. The Houtis Iranian weapons.

There were ongoing Peace Talks in Sweden and a trouce was in place but the Houthis crossed over the border into Saudi Arabia and killed 9 Saudi soldiers in a military offensive only last week. ( Happy to be corrected)

Some people I spoke to not too long ago thought the war in Yemin was because Saudi Arabia was trying to invade Yemin and take over the country. They did not understand it was Yemini against Yemini.

Nobody comes out of the war in Yemin with flying colours.

POGS good post on a unsolvable sad subject.

But is it OK for one country to persuade another to change its arms policies, especially to encourage selling to a dictatorship such as Saudi?

Off course all wars are dreadful and complex but I do think arms suppliers need to take some responsibility when they support one side of a different country's civil war.

Yemen is a very poor country, I hope when this awful situation is at a conclusion those who helped to cause the devastation plough in the cash to rebuild.

So Germany takes a principled stance and a UK minister criticises them for it. We should stop supplying anything to the very corrupt and entangled counry that is Saudi Arabia. The bombing of Yemen is terrible and even worse is the fact that it is the Saudis who largely financed and supplied ISIS or Daesh in their attempt to build an Islamic state. What do people think this real example of a totalitarian state where women are abused and there is little respect for human rights is going to do with the stuff we sell them? It is meant to kill others and it does.

USA and France also supply weapons and intelligence.

The gulf Arab sheikhs and their sheikhdoms vary a little but fundamentally they are all feudal societies. Many of the non royals are delightful but they are still hugely conservative. The house of Saud is the most conservative. However they do respect the British so we had a chance to influence. But it seems money overrides morality at big business levels