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Tory Defence Secretary Michael Fallon says 'criticism of Saudi Arabia in Parliament not helpful' Tory Defence Secretary Michael Fallon says 'criticism of Saudi Arabia in Parliament not helpful'
(35 minutes later)
Defence Secretary Michael Fallon has claimed that criticism of Saudi Arabia in Parliament is hindering Britain’s ability to secure sales of fighter jets to the oil-rich kingdom. Defence Secretary Michael Fallon has claimed that criticism of Saudi Arabia in Parliament is hindering Britain’s ability to secure sales of fighter jets to the oil-rich kingdom.
Asked about a deal – currently being brokered by BAE and the British Government with Riyadh – the Defence Secretary said: “I have to repeat sadly that obviously other criticism of Saudi Arabia in this Parliament is not helpful and I’ll leave it there.  The extraordinary claim came as Sir Michael was quizzed on why a deal on Eurofighter Typhoon jets to the Middle Eastern country – currently being brokered by BAE and the British Government with Riyadh – was yet to be agreed.
The Defence Secretary said: “I have to repeat sadly that obviously other criticism of Saudi Arabia in this Parliament is not helpful and I’ll leave it there. 
“We need to everything possible to encourage Saudi Arabia towards batch two and I believe they will commit toward batch two and we continue to work away on the timing.”“We need to everything possible to encourage Saudi Arabia towards batch two and I believe they will commit toward batch two and we continue to work away on the timing.”
Speaking in Westminster, Mr Fallon continued: “Well we’ve been working extremely hard on the batch two deal and I travelled to Saudi Arabia back in September and discussed progress on the deal with my opposite number the crown prince of Saudi Arabia and we continue to press for signature of at least a statement of intent.”  Speaking to Parliament’s Defence Committee, Sir Michael continued: “Well we’ve been working extremely hard on the batch two deal and I travelled to Saudi Arabia back in September and discussed progress on the deal with my opposite number the crown prince of Saudi Arabia and we continue to press for signature of at least a statement of intent.” 
His comments were immediately seized on by the Campaign Against the Arms Trade (CAAT) who said the comments from Mr Fallon were “disgraceful”.  His comments were immediately seized upon by the Campaign Against the Arms Trade (CAAT) who branded Mr Fallon’s warning to colleagues as “disgraceful”.
“He is calling on other parliamentarians to join him in putting arms sales ahead of human rights, democracy and international humanitarian law,” said Andrew Smith. “He is calling on other parliamentarians to join him in putting arms sales ahead of human rights, democracy and international humanitarian law,” said Andrew Smith. 
“Arms sales to human rights abusing regimes like Saudi Arabia would not be possible without the support of Ministers like Fallon. If the government's main concern is jobs then it should be shifting that support into more positive areas like renewable energy and low carbon technology, and other industries which are not dependent on war and conflict for profit.”“Arms sales to human rights abusing regimes like Saudi Arabia would not be possible without the support of Ministers like Fallon. If the government's main concern is jobs then it should be shifting that support into more positive areas like renewable energy and low carbon technology, and other industries which are not dependent on war and conflict for profit.”
More follows During the session Sir Michael also said there has been an “extraordinary increase” in Russain submarine activity in the North Atlantic.about the current military capability review, which is under way across the Ministry of Defence, he said its “principal driver” was that the threats identified in 2015 “have got markedly worse”.
“We have seen an extraordinary increase in Russian submarine activity over the last couple of years in the North Atlantic,” Sir Michael told the House of Commons Defence Committee.
“We have seen North Korea testing their missiles, we have seen cyber attacks on our own country and on our own Parliament.
“We have had terror attacks - five this year on our own streets. These threats have intensified since we carried out the 2015 review [Security Defence Spending Review].
“I think it is right we look again and make sure, across the board of security and defence, we have our capabilities in the right place.”