The UK is training Saudi pilots amid accusations of war crimes in Yemen

The Saudi Air Force is being trained by the British Government amid accusations that it is carrying out atrocities in neighboring Yemen, it has emerged.

The Saudi Air Force is being trained by the British Government amid accusations that it is carrying out atrocities in neighboring Yemen, it has emerged.

The Liberal Democrats – who uncovered the instruction being given, in both Saudi Arabia and the UK itself – described the revelation as “shameful”.

Tom Brake, the party’s foreign affairs spokesman, called on the Ministry of Defense (MoD) to end the training immediately and for much stricter controls on arms exports to the oil-rich kingdom.

The training opens up a new front in criticism of Britain’s close links with Saudi Arabia – with the Saudis currently leading a coalition bombing campaign against Houthi rebels in Yemen – at growing humanitarian cost.