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Hunt slams Germany’s halt to Saudi arms sales

JEREMY HUNT has criticised his German counterpart for halting arms sales to Saudi Arabia, claiming that the move could affect British arms dealers.

“I am very concerned about the impact of the German government’s decision on the British and European defence industry,” the Tory Foreign Secretary wrote in a letter seen by Der Spiegel magazine.

Mr Hunt is worried that British weapons manufacturers will now struggle to fulfil contracts with Saudi Arabia.

The Gulf dictatorship depends on Typhoon and Tornado fighter jets, which are made by BAE Systems in partnership with Germany and other European states.

The German embargo on arms exports to Saudi, which was imposed after the gruesome murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, will make it harder for Riyadh to obtain spare parts for its fighter jets.

Gulf human rights activist Sayed Ahmed Alwadaei, from the Bahrain Institute for Rights and Democracy, told the Morning Star: “For the FCO to continue its shameful arms sales to Saudi Arabia, which is fuelling the catastrophe in Yemen, is one thing, but to actively dissuade other states from embarking on their own human rights initiatives is disgraceful.”



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