Ariana News Agency-\u00a0<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n It is signed by Labour’s Jeremy Corbyn, the SNP’s Ian Blackford, Lib Dem Sir Vince Cable, Plaid Cymru’s Liz Saville Roberts and Green MP Caroline Lucas.<\/p>\n The letter comes after the UK Court of Appeal ruled the sale of arms to the country was unlawful.<\/p>\n Judges said there was a clear risk the arms might be used in a serious violation of international humanitarian law and licences should be reviewed – though not immediately suspended.<\/p>\n A spokeswoman for Prime Minister Theresa May said the government was “disappointed” with the ruling and would be seeking permission to appeal against it.<\/p>\n The leaders criticised Mr Johnson and Mr Hunt for their tenures as foreign secretary, saying the \u00a34.6bn-worth of UK arms trade with Saudi Arabia since 2015 had supplied “a regime that is directly responsible for indiscriminate attacks on civilians”.<\/p>\n According to UN statistics, there have been 17,640 civilians casualties in Yemen so far.<\/p>\n Their letter says: “The UK government, whoever leads it, cannot hide behind platitudes and must start dealing in reality.”<\/p>\n The politicians want either a full parliamentary or public inquiry after the court ruling to “find out how [it] was allowed to happen, and which ministers were responsible”.<\/p>\n “The UK needs a prime minister that acts and speaks with vision, wisdom and compassion, and that does so while reflecting the values at the heart of our society,” they wrote.<\/p>\n “Your respective track records as foreign secretary do not inspire confidence that either of you are willing or capable of rising to that challenge”.<\/p>\n ‘Clear risk’ Under UK export policy, military equipment licences should not be granted if there is a “clear risk” that weapons might be used in a “serious violation of international humanitarian law”.<\/p>\n Theresa May has insisted controls on UK arms exports are among the “most robust in the world” and the UK takes its responsibilities very seriously.<\/p>\n The government has defended the UK’s wider trade and intelligence relationship with the Gulf state, saying it has helped save many lives in the UK.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" In a letter to the two Tory contenders – Boris Johnson and Jeremy Hunt – the leaders accused the pair of a “lack of moral leadership” on the issue.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":3573,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_mat_hreflang_tags":[],"addvideo":"","video_duration":"","farsit":"","target":"0","top_stories":"0","top":"0"},"categories":[3],"tags":[257,83,267,214],"class_list":["post-3572","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-world","tag-arm-deal","tag-saudi-arabia","tag-uk","tag-yemen-war"],"acf":{"myctype":"change","target":false,"top_stories":false,"top":false,"farsit":""},"yoast_head":"\n
\nEquipment sold to Saudi Arabia since the bombing of Yemen began in March 2015 includes Typhoon and Tornado fighter jets, as well as precision-guided bombs.<\/p>\n