UK Government attempting to keep details of secret security pact with Saudi Arabia hidden from public

Exclusive: Theresa May agreed to ‘memorandum of understanding’ with Crown Prince Muhammad bin Nayef last year

The British Government signed a secret security pact with Saudi Arabia and is now attempting to prevent details of the deal from being made public.

The Home Secretary Theresa May agreed to the so-called ‘memorandum of understanding’ with her Saudi counter-part Crown Prince Muhammad bin Nayef during a visit to the Kingdom last year.

The Home Office released no details of her trip at the time or announced that the deal had been signed. The only public acknowledgement was a year later in a Foreign Office report which obliquely referenced an agreement to “modernise the Ministry of the Interior”.

But now following a Freedom of Information request from the Liberal Democrats, who were in Government at the time, it has emerged that the agreement is far wider than has been acknowledged.


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In its grounds for refusing to publish details of the memorandum the Home Office has admitted it “contains information relating to the UK’s security co-operation with Saudi Arabia”.

Releasing the document it says “would damage the UK’s bilateral relationship” with the Kingdom and potentially damage Britain’s national security.


The Home Secretary Theresa May agreed to the so-called ‘memorandum of understanding’ with her Saudi counter-part Crown Prince Muhammad bin Nayef

Human rights groups have expressed alarm at the secretive nature of the deal with a regime which has been condemned for its human rights record.

In February the Kingdom adopted a new anti-terrorism law that defines terrorism as words or actions deemed by the authorities to be directly or indirectly “disturbing” to public order or “destabilizing the security of society.

In March, a series of decrees promulgated by the Interior Ministry extended Saudi Arabia’s extended the definition of further to include “calling for atheist thought” and “contacting any groups or individuals opposed to the Kingdom”, as well as “seeking to disrupt national unity” by calling for protests.


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The Ministry of the Interior is also responsible for carrying out executions such as the threatened beheading of Ali Mohammed Baqir al-Nimr for taking part in anti-government protests and allegedly attacking security forces when he was 17. Mr Ali al-Nimr supporters claim he was tortured while detention.

Both Liberal Democrats and Labour have called for Mrs May to provide details of the deal to Parliament and expressed concern that such an agreement should be done behind closed doors without any public scrutiny.

“Deals with nations like Saudi Arabia should not be done in secret,” said the Liberal Democrat leader Tim Farron.
“Parliament should be able to hold ministers to account. It is time to shine a light onto the shady corners of our relationship with Saudi Arabia.”

“It is time we stood up for civil liberties, human rights and not turn a blind eye because the House of Saud are our ‘allies’”.

The emergence of the agreement comes after the Justice Secretary Michael Gove announced he was cancelling a £5.9 million contract to provide a training programme for prisons in the Saudi Arabia.

The contract had attracted widespread criticism but when the cancellation was announced it led to a diplomatic row with the Saudi leadership who threatened to withdraw Saudi ambassador in London pending a review of relations with the UK.

In an attempt to placate the Saudi’s David Cameron sent a personal message to King Salman bin Abdul Aziz bin Saud, while the Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond was dispatched to Riyadh to rebuild bridges.

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Labour’s Shadow Foreign Secretary Hilary Benn said that while Saudi Arabia had undoubtedly provided assistance to Britain in dealing with threats in recent years it had also clamped down on fundamental freedoms, such as free speech.
“Any assistance to their interior ministry needs to be in line with our commitment to human rights worldwide,” he said.
“Given the UK Government's recent decision to pull out of a  deal with the Saudi Ministry of Justice on prisons, it is imperative that the FCO and the Home Office provide details on what this MOU with the Saudis involves so Parliament and the public can be assured that it is compliant with our treaty obligations and British values. Ministers should not hide behind the cloak of national security and should instead be open about the nature of this arrangement.


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Amnesty International UK Director Kate Allen described the memorandum as a “murky deal”.

“We’d like to know what efforts are being made by UK officials to challenge and prevent abuses in Saudi Arabia’s highly abusive justice system?” she said.

“This murky MoU deal was set up shortly after the Saudi Interior Ministry was granted draconian new powers to hold and interrogate terrorism suspects without a lawyer for 90 days. Have Theresa May’s officials ever asked their counterparts to scale back on these excessive powers?

“The UK already has a track record of selling vast quantities of arms to Saudi Arabia while remaining markedly reluctant to publicly criticise Riyadh for its atrocious human rights record.

“With people like the blogger Raif Badawi still languishing in jail and the teenage protester Ali al-Nimr still facing a possible execution, secret deals between the UK and Saudi leave a very bad taste.”

A Home Office spokesman said they could not comment on the memorandum. 

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/uk-government-attempting-to-keep-details-of-secret-security-pact-with-saudi-arabia-hidden-from-a6783376.html


This is beyond disgusting and wrong on so many levels that if I started to go into them I would never stop writing.  I am utterly enraged at this Government.

So a covert cooperation of security whcih is no doubt intelligence sharing, thus safeguarding the UK and would if realease no doubt compremiose the work done. And we are also supposed to refuse suich securtity cooperation with a nation, even if oppressive, which Labour had no problem dealing with? And go off where Saudi do not use methods to warn of air stikes in Yemen. Where I see no call to bring war crime charges against them. Which any such call to investigate would be surpressed. Where the UN human rights council is headed up[ by Suadi Arabia.

Sorry I would laugh at the hypocrisy, but the joke is the regressives strike again.

I do not tink anyone likes the UK working with Saudi oin security cooperation, but if it means saving lives, then that takes priority. Its a tad late in the day to moan about human  rights abuses when the UN appointed  Saudi to head up the UN humans rights Council, let alone they spend most of their time just condemning Israel, when Saudi commits some of the worst abuses.

So please spare the forum any hypocrisy

I've been speaking out against the Saudis for years, and funnily enough, so have you.  But like a typical Tory, one click of your master's fingers and you cast all morals to the winds, without a thought.

Both Labour and Lib Dems have been fighting us selling arms to the Saudi's and pressurised Cameron into speaking out against the planned beheadings of teenagers for having the temerity to protest.

It's ain't me that's the hypocrite is it?   And the UN appointed Saudi because CAMERON backed them.

Really, where is the marches and the protests outside the embassy?
Where is the saudi version of breaking the silence?
Where is the call foir an investigation into air strikes as war crimes?
In fact where ios the same number of Muslims and lefties claiming to call for Justice in Palestine no where near in the same numbers vocal against Saudi?
Labour were hasppy to dso buisness with the foir years, so stop talking shite
Security of the British people is needed to be kept secret for a reason
You have no need or reason to know.

You know what Didge, I'll let that post speak for itself, as it shows what an inconsequential, insignificant jackass you really are, and without any ethics, dancing to the tune of your masters.  Very sad.

So in other words you being a nosey parker is of more importance to the safety of British people where basically what you and others are accusing based off no evidence is that the UK is complcit to some human rights abuses and on no evidence but cooperating on security measures. Again a left wing regressive does not need to know based off the fact they show the worst double standards and hypocreisy

A.  If you think that is English you are deluding yourself

B.

And as usual sassy has no answer lol

Quelle surprise

You think that deserves an answer?  Or even requires one?

I'll leave you to ramble on, you have shown yourself up yet again.

More feeble excuses

There is a security cooperation, which means helping prevent the loss of life.
Your reason is based off you basically claiming the UK is complicit to human rights abuses, which is not only poor but lacks any evidence.
That is the reason they are wanting to know the details, based off an assumption based on the human rights abuses by Sasudi.
Without evidence its absurd and bonkers and again the safety of people in this country is more important that a nosey parkler who has no need to know

The Government are there to serve me, not the other way round, and I don't do your servile bowing and scraping and I don't want safety at any price, including the price of being blackmailed by the Saudis.

Thatcher also made a secret deal with the Saudi's https://www.rt.com/uk/310030-saudi-thatcher/   BTW the investigation was halted by Blair to protect Thatcher government and her son who was complicit in it.

To serve just you?
They are there to serve the whole nation and if that means their safety. How selfish, talk about placing needs you do not require over the security of the nation and thus  the needs of the nations then places any view you have in the waste paper basket where it belongs.
Again we have had to dealings with Stalin in order to win WW2?
If you are trying to malke some idiotic claim to having a moral issue here on the UK cooperating with a natiion who abuses humans rightrs, it shows how utterly dumb you are being the threat faced to both nations and countless others by extremists.
Also due to your absurd reasoing to think killing Israeli civillians is armded ressistance under occupation relegrates any moral high ground you claim to have to being openly comnplcit to trying to justify terrorism,.

You carry on bowing and scraping and bending your knee and licking their boots.  Just remember next time you start talking about the Saudi's being the font of all evil in terrorism, I'll point this out. 

Your lack of moral terpitude has been shown in all it's depravity and vassalage, you place your safety above the beheading of teenagers.

They are the font of all evil.
The problem is there is a worse evil at the moment, and that means sometimes you have to work with a group, you would rather not work with but have to in order to have better security intelligence.,
This is why if idiots like you were left into making many difficiult decisions that were needed to be done like in WW2. You would have surrender the moment the first shot was fired in anger.
So this is why you are clueless, many are not happy that sometimes we have to work with groups who are appalling, but there is a pressing matter fiirst to deal with which you wish to aid by intefering with intelligence coopewration.
You regressives really are as thick as fuck

Nobody is invading us as they were in WWII.  We have a choice.  As I said, your lack of moral terpitude has been shown in all it's depravity and vassalage, you place your safety above the beheading of teenagers.

And sassy proves again she is as thick as fuck.
We are involved in a conflict and under terrorism threats.

Can you imagine the headlines after a hundred fatalities and many more injurfed on compremising thius information.

"I am sorry everyone, but the insignificant needs of sassy to know the intelligence cooperation of the UK, and opening up that we were following a terrorist cell, who have then went underground and later carried out this attocity"

My morals places the security of this nation first, not some daft old bat who aids Islamism and its terrorism with her regressive views, has been expsoed with racism over denying a Jewish identity to Israzelis and even more disgustingly tried to deligitimnze Israeli civillains, to make a fuckwit claim top say their murders is armed ressiatnce under occupation.

Your moral compass has never worked, becausee you have always been a complete brainless idiot

That made me snort with laughter.

No need to tell you are a pig sassy we already know love

Snort snort ha ha ha

There we go, Didge as he really is.  Say no more.

Or the fact you have zero humour

And please spare tghe bullshit card, I suppose just like your idiotic absurd moral indicator that jsutifies murder and denies people their idemtity, you also believe you never say anything nasty and yet I went off  joking at you going snort.

Lol

Ah, quick backtrack and pretend it was humour to try and cover just what you are.  Normal didge behaviour.

Of course its humour sassy this is why I added snort snort myself for emphasis, but then a daft old brainless zombie like yourself proves further why you are an idiot

Like I say I could just post up countless crap you have said, so nobody is buying your fakew outrage lo

Too late didge, you showed yourself up again in more than one way on this thread.

sassy wrote:Too late didge, you showed yourself up again in more than one way on this thread.

PMSL, too late?
I frankly am not concerned if you took offense.
lol

Anyway as seen you have done everything to avoid all the points, which is no improvement from any other day

Most people place the needs of the many ovewr the few or the one

The fact yolu place yourself above the whole nations, shows what a selfiish plonker you are

Me thinks the man doth protest too much.

Me thinks sassy is desperate to deflect every single debate she keeps looking utterly daft on
lol

Me thinks Didge is up to his old tricks, desperation has set in.

So that is deflection post number 8 by sassy

Richard The Lionheart wrote:So that is deflection post number 8 by sassy

Why have you made this thread personal?

What happened to attack the post, not the poster?

How many bad days do you have before we can all conclude that you're just a grumpy old git? No offence to the other forum grump gits.

Lol! Sorry dude - but shit likes this spoils the thread and the debate. Don't be such a loser. Only losers play that game.

And stop taking this forum that seriously. No one is really listening to you.

It's frigging t'is the season to be jolly!

LOL, after your 'pig' post didge, you really can't claim that.

Now, my last post, because your immorality makes me feel slightly sick, and I don't want to feel that over Yule.

You see, I put being able to try and stop Saudi beheading those teenagers over my well being.

Just so you know who you are happy to have beheaded and crucified for good measure:





+4


+4
Ali al-Nimr faces a sentence of 'crucifixion' – involving beheading and the public display of his body – for his role in protests in 2012 when he was only 17 years old

Wow one kid, what about all the Israeli kids you deligitimise them being citizens and even deny them a Jewish identity?

Sorry but anyone can post up pics, and I proved you are immoral and back the worst antisemitism

And that is deflection number 9 fromk you

See, you don't even bother to read THEIR names, but then, they probably all look alike to you.

Because sassy, your claim to be moral and ethical is blatantly absurd and quite frankly bollocks as again of the immoral racist reasons you have made on Israelis.
You exposed yourself when you idiotically denied a Jewish identiy of the Israeli people.