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Emily Thornberry response to High Court’s ruling that UK arms sales to Saudi Arabia are legal

Emily Thornberry MP, Labour’s Shadow Foreign Secretary, responding to the High Court’s ruling that UK arms sales to Saudi Arabia are legal, said:

“This is a frustrating setback, but that is all it is. It will not for one second stop us fighting for justice on behalf of the thousands of civilians killed by Saudi air-strikes, and working for peace on behalf of the millions of ordinary Yemenis currently living in fear of violence, famine and cholera.

“In particular, we must first redouble our efforts to force the UK Government to support an independent, UN-led investigation into alleged violations of international humanitarian law by the Saudi coalition, one the Government will not be able to circumvent through the presentation of secret evidence in closed sessions of court.

“And second, we must continue to demand that the Government brings forward the peace plan that the UN has been waiting for Britain to present for the last nine months, and does not treat today’s judgement as a green light to continue pushing for a military solution which can only bring more death, misery and hardship to the people of Yemen.”

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Labour •

Lucas: Selling arms to Saudi Arabia is 'utterly unethical'

10 July 2017

Caroline Lucas, the co-leader of the Green Party, has suggested that a change of law is needed to stop arms sales to repressive regimes after the High Court ruled that the Government can continue to sell weapons to Saudi Arabia [1].

Lucas, who has been battling the Government over arms sales to Saudi Arabia for many years, accused the Government of being ‘utterly unethical’ by selling arms to a regime accused of breaking international law in Yemen. She is supporting the CAAT appeal against the verdict. 

Caroline Lucas MP, Green Party co-leader, said:

“Today’s verdict might mean that the Government is on the right side of the law for now, but it doesn’t give any moral justification for their utterly unethical actions when it comes to arms sales. While the strict legal verdict is that arms sales can continue, the only morally justifiable way forward would be an immediate arms embargo to Saudi Arabia. 

“This verdict suggests that a change of law is desperately needed, because the current legal framework is allowing Britain to sell weapons to a repressive regime whose actions in Yemen are causing a humanitarian disaster. This weak Government has said they are looking to work with other parties – they should start by forming a cross-party review into arms sales to repressive regimes.”

Notes:

1. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/jul/10/uk-arms-exports-to-saudi-arabia-can-continue-high-court-rules?CMP=share_btn_tw

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Green Party •

The Government’s industrial strategy is simply not ambitious enough – Rebecca Long Bailey

Rebecca Long Bailey MP, Labour’s Shadow Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, commenting on today’s findings that the Government’s industrial strategy targets only 10 percent of manufacturing and 1 per cent of the whole economy and widens regional divides, said,

‘’The Government’s industrial strategy is simply not ambitious enough, focussing on an extremely narrow section of the UK, both economically and geographically, and contains no commitment to the levels of investment necessary to transform the economy.

“Labour’s industrial strategy has real teeth, backed up by our £250 billion National Transformation Fund, the National Investment Bank and a network of Regional Development Banks. It will be wide-reaching, centred around three pillars: national missions to address the societal issues of our time, cross-cutting policies to create a fertile ground for business activity and collaboration at a sector level for both established and potential industries.

“Only Labour has a modern, ambitious and achievable industrial strategy to rebuild and transform the economy in every region of the UK for the many not the few.’’

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Labour •