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| Theresa May announces joint effort on security in Gulf | |
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| Britain is to step up its security cooperation with Gulf countries with a focus on the movement of funds to terrorist groups, the prime minister said as she prepared to visit troops stationed in the region on her two-day visit to Bahrain. | Britain is to step up its security cooperation with Gulf countries with a focus on the movement of funds to terrorist groups, the prime minister said as she prepared to visit troops stationed in the region on her two-day visit to Bahrain. |
| On the way to the summit, Theresa May said she recognised a long-running responsibility for the UK to raise human rights concerns with Gulf countries including Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, particularly over their role in the ongoing conflict in Yemen. | On the way to the summit, Theresa May said she recognised a long-running responsibility for the UK to raise human rights concerns with Gulf countries including Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, particularly over their role in the ongoing conflict in Yemen. |
| Human rights campaigners in Bahrain argue that although the UK has been assisting Bahrain with judicial and police reform since 2012, current levels of UK engagement on rights issues have not prevented crackdowns on journalists and pro-democracy activists. | Human rights campaigners in Bahrain argue that although the UK has been assisting Bahrain with judicial and police reform since 2012, current levels of UK engagement on rights issues have not prevented crackdowns on journalists and pro-democracy activists. |
| “I think the UK has always had the position, and we continue to have the position, that where there are issues raised about human rights, where there are concerns, we will rightly raise those,” the prime minister said. | “I think the UK has always had the position, and we continue to have the position, that where there are issues raised about human rights, where there are concerns, we will rightly raise those,” the prime minister said. |
| “I already have done in some of the meetings I’ve already had in my time as prime minister, and we will continue to do that. But I think what’s important is that because we have the overall engagement, we are able to raise those issues around human rights.” | “I already have done in some of the meetings I’ve already had in my time as prime minister, and we will continue to do that. But I think what’s important is that because we have the overall engagement, we are able to raise those issues around human rights.” |
| Asked about Saudi Arabia’s record in the Yemen conflict, May – who is due to meet King Salman later on Tuesday – said: “If any allegations are raised about breaches of international humanitarian law … we’re very clear those should be properly investigated and encourage the Saudi Arabians to investigate those, and to ensure that any lessons are learned from those investigations.” | Asked about Saudi Arabia’s record in the Yemen conflict, May – who is due to meet King Salman later on Tuesday – said: “If any allegations are raised about breaches of international humanitarian law … we’re very clear those should be properly investigated and encourage the Saudi Arabians to investigate those, and to ensure that any lessons are learned from those investigations.” |
| Before her speech on Wednesday at the Gulf Co-operation Council summit, May announced the establishment of the first joint UK-GCC counter-terrorism working group, with a focus on border and airport security and blocking terrorist financing. The UK will advise on more effective traveller screening at airports in the region, with the aim of improving the tracking of the movement of potential terrorists. | Before her speech on Wednesday at the Gulf Co-operation Council summit, May announced the establishment of the first joint UK-GCC counter-terrorism working group, with a focus on border and airport security and blocking terrorist financing. The UK will advise on more effective traveller screening at airports in the region, with the aim of improving the tracking of the movement of potential terrorists. |
| On her first morning in Bahrain, the prime minister will speak to 900 British troops aboard the HMS Ocean in Khalifa bin Salman Port in Bahrain. The vessel currently provides the command platform for key operations in the Middle East, including directing US Task Force 50, the Americans’ fleet of naval vessels in the Gulf. | On her first morning in Bahrain, the prime minister will speak to 900 British troops aboard the HMS Ocean in Khalifa bin Salman Port in Bahrain. The vessel currently provides the command platform for key operations in the Middle East, including directing US Task Force 50, the Americans’ fleet of naval vessels in the Gulf. |
| As well as the UK government’s £3bn defence fund for the region over the next 10 years, where more British warships, aircraft and personnel are deployed than anywhere in the world, more MoD staff are to be deployed to the region, including a new permanent defence staff in Dubai and a military officer embedded with Bahrain’s bomb disposal unit. | As well as the UK government’s £3bn defence fund for the region over the next 10 years, where more British warships, aircraft and personnel are deployed than anywhere in the world, more MoD staff are to be deployed to the region, including a new permanent defence staff in Dubai and a military officer embedded with Bahrain’s bomb disposal unit. |
| Three UK cybersecurity experts have been appointed to advise Gulf institutions and training on countering terrorist financing. Their first workshop will take place in Qatar next week. | Three UK cybersecurity experts have been appointed to advise Gulf institutions and training on countering terrorist financing. Their first workshop will take place in Qatar next week. |
| However, the commitment to helping Gulf nations strengthen their security apparatus and intelligence-gathering is likely to raise concerns from NGOs that any new surveillance capabilities will also be used to monitor pro-democracy activists and journalists. | However, the commitment to helping Gulf nations strengthen their security apparatus and intelligence-gathering is likely to raise concerns from NGOs that any new surveillance capabilities will also be used to monitor pro-democracy activists and journalists. |
| May, who was greeted on her arrival in Bahrain last night by King Hamad bin Isa al-Khalifa, is said to be keen to deepen regional security ties, which Downing Street said had already saved British lives, pointing to the October 2010 “printer bomb” scare at East Midlands airport on a flight bound for the US, which was caught by security forces after being picked up by Saudi intelligence. | May, who was greeted on her arrival in Bahrain last night by King Hamad bin Isa al-Khalifa, is said to be keen to deepen regional security ties, which Downing Street said had already saved British lives, pointing to the October 2010 “printer bomb” scare at East Midlands airport on a flight bound for the US, which was caught by security forces after being picked up by Saudi intelligence. |
| Speaking before her visit to HMS Ocean, the prime minister said the security of Gulf countries and the UK were intertwined. “Now more than ever, Gulf security is our security,” she said. “And it’s not just about military power – we also need to work together to respond to new and diversifying threats. So, on my visit here, we are agreeing new cooperation to do more to prevent radicalisation and to tackle terrorism. | Speaking before her visit to HMS Ocean, the prime minister said the security of Gulf countries and the UK were intertwined. “Now more than ever, Gulf security is our security,” she said. “And it’s not just about military power – we also need to work together to respond to new and diversifying threats. So, on my visit here, we are agreeing new cooperation to do more to prevent radicalisation and to tackle terrorism. |
| “In all of these ways, I am determined to step up our defence and security partnership to provide greater confidence and stability to the region and to keep our people safe in an ever more dangerous world.” | “In all of these ways, I am determined to step up our defence and security partnership to provide greater confidence and stability to the region and to keep our people safe in an ever more dangerous world.” |
| On Tuesday, May will have bilateral meetings with three different Gulf leaders – the king of Saudi Arabia, the emir of Kuwait and the prime minister of the United Arab Emirates – as well as hosting a reception for young Bahraini leaders. She will dine later with all six Gulf leaders before her speech at the GCC on Wednesday, where she will be the first woman ever to address the summit. | On Tuesday, May will have bilateral meetings with three different Gulf leaders – the king of Saudi Arabia, the emir of Kuwait and the prime minister of the United Arab Emirates – as well as hosting a reception for young Bahraini leaders. She will dine later with all six Gulf leaders before her speech at the GCC on Wednesday, where she will be the first woman ever to address the summit. |
| Over the weekend, rights groups including Reprieve, Human Rights Watch, Index on Censorship and the Bahrain Institute for Rights and Democracy wrote to May asking her to change her tactics for engagement with Gulf leaders. | Over the weekend, rights groups including Reprieve, Human Rights Watch, Index on Censorship and the Bahrain Institute for Rights and Democracy wrote to May asking her to change her tactics for engagement with Gulf leaders. |
| May has been urged in particular to call for the release of the pro-democracy campaigner Nabeel Rajab, who faces 15 years in jail for criticising Bahrain’s role in the war in Yemen and for an article he wrote in the New York Times about the country’s crackdown on activists, which saw him charged with defaming the state. The US government has called for Rajab’s release, but the Foreign Office has not, saying simply that it is monitoring the case. | May has been urged in particular to call for the release of the pro-democracy campaigner Nabeel Rajab, who faces 15 years in jail for criticising Bahrain’s role in the war in Yemen and for an article he wrote in the New York Times about the country’s crackdown on activists, which saw him charged with defaming the state. The US government has called for Rajab’s release, but the Foreign Office has not, saying simply that it is monitoring the case. |