UK officials chose cosying up to oppressor UAE over preventing mass murder in Sudan

The UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) now face serious questions after being proven to be politically captured, yet again, by an oppressive state funding mass-murder, this time at the hands of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

Afraid of upsetting foreign tyrants, thus choosing to ignore warnings about the mass slaughter of Sudanese civilians in el-Fasher. Instead, human rights investigator Nathaniel Raymond has claimed that the FCDO instead prioritised cosying up to the UAE out of fear it would upset existing ‘good relations’.

Founding director of the Humanitarian Research Lab (HRL) at Yale School of Public Health, Raymond, provided damning testimony which, in turn, shines a light on state autonomy in the foreign office.

Raymond told a parliamentary select committee on Tuesday 23rd June that the UK – despite being responsible for leading the international response and the “best hope” for decisive action – ignored, questioned or dismissed his crucial warnings.

UK failed to stop el-Fasher massacre because it feared the UAE, MPs told.

Relations with Abu Dhabi prioritised as UAE-backed RSF massacred civilians, Nathaniel Raymond tells parliamentary committee

— Middle East Eye (@MiddleEastEye) June 23, 2026

UK too scared of the UAE to stop genocide in Sudan

Our own Joe Glenton has paid great attention to the genocide being waged in Sudan, emphasising how the UK has been arming the genocide through arms sales to the UAE. There is no doubt the UK has been making considerable profits from this bloody relationship with the emirates state. It has long frustrated the British public that the FCDO has done precious little to prevent the bloodshed which has left over 33m in need of humanitarian aid this year alone.

Our complicity in the murders inflicted by the Sudanese Rapid Support Forces (RSF) is undeniable, with MP Jeremy Corbyn slamming the government’s role in enabling the mass slaughter of men, women and children.

In November, Corbyn called for a ban on arm sales to the UAE which has yet to be realised – and this recent testimony from Raymond suggests the British government could have stopped the el Fasher massacre, it just chose not to.

In fact, there were a dozen meetings between Raymond and FCDO officials which provided ample opportunity for the government to intervene and prevent the October massacre in el-Fasher.

Raymond testified that all of the warnings, meant to stop “what we believed would become one of the single largest mass casualty events of the 21st Century”, landed on deaf ears.

Diplomacy with tyrants more important than stopping Sudan genocide

Instead, “economic, security, and diplomatic relationships with the UAE” were the most important factors for the British government, thus doing absolutely nothing to prevent:

the intentional starvation, forced displacement, and the genocidal slaughter of tens of thousands of civilians living in el-Fasher and its surrounding communities.

Whether the shameful excuse is fear of reprisal from the UAE, or a reduction in arm sales profits, neither will wash with the public and the government must answer for its willingness to bend to murderous tyrants whilst civilian populations are suffering a genocide.

Even worse, it has a track record with its complicity in the genocide on Gaza being conducted by the Zionist settler-colonial state of Israel showing a palpable comfort with mass murder in the British government and establishment as a whole.

It also highlights how easy it is to capture our government, which effectively neuters the state and leaves the rest of us beholden to the world’s bullies and tyrants.

‘The UK government chose preserving relations with UAE over calling out atrocities in Sudan’ https://t.co/JTfwuAWZ23

— Alex Crawford (@AlexCrawfordSky) June 24, 2026

Funnily enough, better late than never, this testimony arguably has given the UK government a kick up the arse as the FCDO now seem willing to call out the RSF – notably making no mention of the UAE’s role though. Still don’t want to upset their pals in the UAE.

Also, there is little humility or apology for doing absolutely naff all to stop the rape, pillaging, and murder waged by the RSF despite evidently having the intelligence making them fully aware of the carnage and brutality that was predicted to come:

Rapid Support Forces (RSF) continue to target civilian infrastructure in Sudan's El Obeid with drone attacks.

Foreign Secretary @YvetteCooperMP’s statement ⤵️ pic.twitter.com/drItzk1cgd

— Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (@FCDOGovUK) June 23, 2026

Tory or Labour – mass murder is still sanctioned

Fears inevitably grew for the fate of el-Fasher after the RSF – armed by the UAE – murdered over 10,000 Masalit Sudanese people in el-Geneina. Both el-Fasher and el-Geneina are in the Darfur region which has spent decades in war.

El-Fasher is home to many who have been displaced within Sudan, who were desperately seeking refuge from the long-seen violence. However, it was clear this refuge would not last with Raymond raising the alarm in the summer of 2023 requesting a UN peacekeeping intervention.

At the time, Tory MP Cleverly held the position of foreign secretary, and he must be made to answer for his preference to work closely with the people waging the genocide, rather than recognising his responsibility to uphold international law and work towards establishing peace.

A couple of months before Lammy took office in July 2024, the siege on el-Fasher began. That was precisely the point when Raymond ramped up his efforts to convince the British government to do something as the “best chance of avoiding a catastrophe”.

Despite being made aware of detailed arms supply routes linked directly to the brother and second-in-command of RSF leader Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo, with Ethiopia and a military base in Bosaso as key routes used by the UAE to further mass-murder civilians in Sudan, the Cleverly-run FCDO were too scared and asked the HRL to publicly release the information.

Apparently, the UAE had sufficiently captured the UK’s foreign office with Raymond stating:

They told me that the UK was facing significant private pressure behind the scenes from the UAE limiting its ability to affect the situation.

In other words, HMG [His Majesty’s Government] was asking a private research lab in an American university’s epidemiology department, not GCHQ or the SIS [Secret Intelligence Service], to provide support for efforts to confront the UAE for its covert support to the RSF.

However, the HRL would have hindered its ability to predict these attacks if it went public – and frankly, this decisive action is a matter for elected state leaders.

Murderous tyrants control our foreign office

Nevertheless, a change in government clearly had no impact on this shameful lack of action, as Labour’s Lammy and then Yvette Cooper stepped in as foreign secretary and again, did absolutely nothing to intervene.

The predicted massacre in el-Fasher, Sudan took place in October 2025, a month after Cooper took the reins. The UAE-backed RSF are estimated to have slaughtered tens of thousands of people, while the UK government has offered no meaningful pushback. By December 2025, the HRL suggested that up to 250,000 remaining civilians had either been killed, died from related causes, been further displaced, or gone into hiding.

Like has been seen with Netanyahu, officials appear to lack the political will or moral strength to challenge war criminals and instead, have armed and aided two genocides simultaneously. This palpable ignorance of mass murder has sickened millions in the UK, with many taking to the streets to oppose our ongoing complicity in mass murder.

Therefore, these revelations brought by Raymond further evidence how our FCDO is beholden to tyrants and entirely unwilling to act in accordance with international law.

As a result, there can be no moral superiority in the UK until they recognise that human lives matter, at home and abroad, and murder is never okay – no matter how much it pays our sordid, corrupted government.

Featured image via the Canary