UK To Support Saudi Arabia In Refuelling Jets Used Against Houthi Attacks
Andy Burnham has said the UK will offer “defensive air-to-air refuelling” support to Saudi Arabia, following attacks on the country by Iran-backed Houthi forces in Yemen.
BBC News reports that this is likely to begin in the coming days and will involve a single British aircraft, a Voyager, based at RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus.
The prime minister said it follows a request from Saudi Arabia for “military support”, which he agreed to on the advice of Defence Secretary Wes Streeting and Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband.
Government officials said the offer is “time limited” and likely, at first, to last “for weeks”.
The Houthis are locked in a civil war with Yemen’s internationally recognised government, which is backed by Saudi Arabia.
In recent days, the Houthis in Yemen say they have carried out drone and ballistic missile attacks on the Saudi capital Riyadh, as well as energy sites on the country’s Red Sea coast.
UK officials describe defensive support as activity which could include aiding Saudi air force jets in shooting down incoming Houthi missiles and drones.
The single Voyager aircraft is part of a core fleet of nine – eight military registered and another civilian registered – on the Royal Air Force (RAF)’s books.
The RAF also has five others available for military recall if needed.
Speaking to reporters travelling with him on the way to the United Nations General Assembly in New York, Burnham linked cost of living pressures to the decision.
“I go back to the point I made about cost-of-living pressures and acting to secure the interests of Britain and the wider region,” he said.
“Because, of course, Saudi Arabia has been experiencing attacks, is looking at potential further disruption, and we need to keep those pathways open, and hence our agreement to the request.”
Speaking to BBC Breakfast, Defence Minister Luke Pollard argued that UK support for Saudi Arabia would “ensure there’s not further escalation in the Red Sea, which could further risk our fuel prices”.
Petrol prices in the UK jumped to their highest for nearly four years in August, the Office for National Statistics said, while diesel also rocketed.
He insisted that the UK’s support fully conformed to international humanitarian law, and was about “being true to our allies”.
