• Disrupting Power Since 2015
  • Donate
  • Login
Tuesday, May 13, 2025
  • Login
  • Register
Canary
MEDIA THAT DISRUPTS
  • News
    • UK
    • Global
    • Analysis
    • Trending
  • Editorial
  • Features
    • Features
    • Environment
    • Lifestyle
    • Health
    • Money
    • Science
    • Business
    • Tech
    • Travel
    • Sport & Gaming
  • Media
    • Video
    • Cartoons
  • Opinion
No Result
View All Result
MANAGE SUBSCRIPTION
SUPPORT
  • News
    • UK
    • Global
    • Analysis
    • Trending
  • Editorial
  • Features
    • Features
    • Environment
    • Lifestyle
    • Health
    • Money
    • Science
    • Business
    • Tech
    • Travel
    • Sport & Gaming
  • Media
    • Video
    • Cartoons
  • Opinion
No Result
View All Result
Canary
No Result
View All Result

While the UK arms child-killers, Jeremy Hunt pretends the government supports a ‘political process’ in Yemen

John McEvoy by John McEvoy
13 November 2018
in UK
Reading Time: 3 mins read
170 2
A A
0
Home UK
319
SHARES
2.5k
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

UK foreign secretary Jeremy Hunt just urged “allies to commit to Yemen peace process”. And at the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) on 27 September, he hosted international partners to “press for a peaceful solution to the crisis”. An official video posted by the foreign office, meanwhile, added that “Britain is leading diplomatic efforts to end the crisis”.

It’s unclear how Hunt kept a straight face, though. Because while he pretends that the UK government supports a ‘political process’ in Yemen, Britain is still arming Saudi Arabia to the teeth – in spite of numerous war crime allegations.

“This is not going to be solved with a military solution”, but we’ll keep arming you anyway

Talking to Kay Burley of Sky News, Hunt claimed that the crisis in Yemen “is not going to be solved with a military solution” and that “there has to be a political process”. And he’s right. But these are strange words given that the UK has supplied Saudi Arabia with more than £4.6bn worth of arms since 2015 – a period during which the country has committed “horrific war crimes” in Yemen, including massacres of children and other civilians.

'This is not going to be solved with a military solution' – Jeremy Hunt tells @kayburley that he has spoken to Saudi Arabia in the strongest possible terms over their bombing of Yemen.

For more, head here; https://t.co/FuMZ9jtlVo pic.twitter.com/oWVSf823pa

— Sky News (@SkyNews) September 27, 2018

According to Campaign Against Arms Trade (CAAT), these arms range from helicopters and drones to armoured vehicles and tanks. In 2016, moreover, the UK government admitted that British-made cluster bombs had been deployed in the conflict.

As recent revelations have shown, foreign-made arms can then quite easily be dropped on buses of Yemeni schoolchildren or civilians shopping in markets. In fact, Saudi airstrikes face accusations of “deliberately attacking civilians and infrastructure in rebel-held areas”.

Hunt provided little reassurance to those worried that the Saudis might not be held accountable for murdering civilians. On 27 September, he said:

I spoke to the Saudi Arabian foreign minister in the strongest possible terms… They are having an investigation. They will hold the individuals responsible to account.

Unsurprisingly, past Saudi-led investigations have found Saudi Arabia to be innocent.

And yet the UK government shows no signs of ending arms sales to Saudi Arabia.

“What is Britain’s role in the world?”

In a self-congratulatory video posted on Twitter, Hunt asked: “What is Britain’s role in the world?” He continued, “sometimes we’re a bit pessimistic about our influence and about our global reach… but we are an incredibly important player”.

This is cynical propaganda. People are not simply ‘pessimistic’ about Britain’s waning global influence. Many are concerned about the government’s unending support for child-killers in Saudi Arabia (and elsewhere).

Hunt’s statements following the UNGA are a blatant attempt to conceal the UK’s deadly role in the war on Yemen. The truth is that Britain is not leading meaningful diplomatic efforts to end the crisis – it is sponsoring one of the world’s worst humanitarian catastrophes. And that is utterly unacceptable.

Get Involved!

– Support Campaign Against Arms Trade (CAAT).

– Read more of The Canary’s coverage of the war on Yemen.

– Support The Canary if you appreciate the work we do.

Featured images via Ted Eytan/Wikimedia and Jim Mattis/Wikimedia

Share128Tweet80
Previous Post

Get your law books out. The Tommy Robinson saga has gone full Inception.

Next Post

Twitter slams the male privilege and misogyny evident in Brett Kavanaugh’s hearing

Next Post
Sen Brett Kavanaugh and Dr Christine Blasey Ford

Twitter slams the male privilege and misogyny evident in Brett Kavanaugh's hearing

US Military Intelligence

Leaked US documents reveal a warped vision of regime change in Syria

Allister Heath and Telegraph logo

The growing appeal of Corbynomics is sending the Telegraph into panic mode

Theresa May

The Tories have stolen a Labour policy that bans stealing

Library campaigners (left) Philip Hammond (Right) council funding crisis

The Tories have responded to the council funding crisis... by giving councils another massive funding cut

Tony Blair climate denial
News

Activists have just dragged Tony Blair over his rampant climate denialism

by The Canary
13 May 2025
A petition calling for the end to the badger cull just passed 100,000 signatures so will be heading for parliamentary debate
News

The badger cull is set for a parliamentary debate – all thanks to a viral petition

by The Canary
13 May 2025
Israel kills journalist Hassan Eslaih in Gaza hospital strike
Analysis

Israel kills journalist in Gaza hospital bombing, and its media debates whether that’s OK

by Ed Sykes
13 May 2025
Starmer Farage
Analysis

Keir Starmer may as well roll out the red carpet to Nigel Farage at this point

by James Wright
13 May 2025
Newham Council
Long Reads

Labour-led council left a disabled person in temporary accommodation with no wheelchair access for two years

by Hannah Sharland
13 May 2025
  • Contact
  • About & FAQ
  • Get our Daily News Email
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookie Policy

The Canary
PO Box 71199
LONDON
SE20 9EX

Canary Media Ltd – registered in England. Company registration number 09788095.

For guest posting, contact [email protected]

For other enquiries, contact: [email protected]

The Canary is owned and run by independent journalists and volunteers, NOT offshore billionaires.

You can write for us, or support us by making a regular or one-off donation.

© Canary Media Ltd 2024, all rights reserved | Website by Monster | Hosted by Krystal | Privacy Settings

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password? Sign Up

Create New Account!

Fill the forms below to register

All fields are required. Log In

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
No Result
View All Result
  • News
    • UK
    • Global
    • Analysis
    • Trending
  • Editorial
  • Features
    • Features
    • Environment
    • Lifestyle
    • Health
    • Money
    • Science
    • Business
    • Tech
    • Travel
    • Sport & Gaming
  • Media
    • Video
    • Cartoons
  • Opinion

© 2023 Canary - Worker's co-op.

Before you go, have you seen...?

Tony Blair climate denial
News
The Canary

Activists have just dragged Tony Blair over his rampant climate denialism

A petition calling for the end to the badger cull just passed 100,000 signatures so will be heading for parliamentary debate
News
The Canary

The badger cull is set for a parliamentary debate – all thanks to a viral petition

Israel kills journalist Hassan Eslaih in Gaza hospital strike
Analysis
Ed Sykes

Israel kills journalist in Gaza hospital bombing, and its media debates whether that’s OK

Starmer Farage
Analysis
James Wright

Keir Starmer may as well roll out the red carpet to Nigel Farage at this point

ADVERTISEMENT
Tech
Nathan Spears

How Digital Addictions Are Formed in the Shadow of Large Platforms

Lifestyle
Nathan Spears

Recovery in the Sun: How the Canary Islands are Becoming a Wellness Tourism Hub

Lifestyle
Nathan Spears

Why More People Are Seeking Legal Advice When Separating