Attention is focusing on British-made weapons being sent to Moscow, and understandably so. Vladimir Putin was once a friend of Britain … but now — in the typically Orwellian manner of British foreign policy — he has been transformed into enemy number one.
And yet David Cameron’s definitive claims that an absolute arms embargo has been put in place against Russia have been torpedoed: according to a cross-party group of MPs, there are more than 200 licenses in place to sell arms to Putin’s government.
If you have even a shaky belief in British foreign policy as a force for democracy, even a cursory glance at the list of destinations for British arms should swiftly lead you to part with your illusions. Israel has now killed close to 600 people in Gaza, including 149 children; its land-grabbing settlements place it in violation of international law. Other countries might be deemed pariah states for such actions, but not Israel, which Britain has supplied with parts for sniper rifles, military aircraft, unmanned drones and small arms.
Saudi Arabia is one of the most repressive regimes on earth and bans political parties, trade unions and all forms of dissent; deprives women of many of their most basic rights; kills “witches”; has recently declared atheists to be terrorists; and persecutes LGBT people. It should surely be an ostracized regime. And yet this is the biggest market for British arms, with our government approving £1.6 billion worth of exports, ranging from equipment for machine guns to “comp