Britain has been declared the second biggest arms dealer in the world – and the Middle East is its biggest customer.
Official government figures have found the US is the number one exporter of weapons in the world, closely followed by the UK at number two.
Two-thirds of the weapons sold by the UK since 2010 went to Middle Eastern countries, including those featured on the UK’s human rights watch list, reports The Independent.
Statistics also show Britain has sold more arms than Russia, China or France over the last ten years. The US was ranked as the number one exporter.
A spokesman for the UK Trade and Investment said: ‘The UK is one of the world’s most successful defence exporters, averaging second place in the global rankings on a rolling ten-year basis, making it Europe’s leading defence exporter in the period.’
The Government has been criticised for ignoring calls to stop selling weapons to Saudi Arabia, which has been accused by UN bodies of committing war crimes in Yemen.
Both the European Parliament and the House of Commons have called for exports to the autocracy to stop.
Theresa May is believed to have raised the subject during her meetings with China.
In March, Amnesty International delivered a batch of homemade bombs to Downing Street on Whitehall in protest at British arms deals to Saudi Arabia.
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