British jets will help defend Saudi Arabia's oil infrastructure from missile attacks, Andy Burnham reveals
- See more Daily Mail on Google - save us as a Preferred Source
By JASON GROVES, POLITICAL EDITOR
Published: | Updated:
British jets are to help defend oil infrastructure in Saudi Arabia from missile attacks by Iranian-backed militias.
Andy Burnham revealed he has approved a request from Riyadh for military help in fending off attacks by Houthi rebels in Yemen, which are pushing up global oil prices.
The Prime Minister said the RAF will provide air-to-air refuelling support for jets shooting down drones and missiles fired by the Houthis.
The decision is the first new military deployment signed off by Mr Burnham since becoming PM in July.
Saudi Arabia has requested Western support after Houthi attacks knocked out a vital pipeline exporting oil to the country's Red Sea coast, where it could be exported without having to pass through the Iranian-controlled Strait of Hormuz.
The attack triggered a spike in oil prices and has led to a surge in petrol and diesel prices in the UK.
Speaking to reporters while travelling to New York, the PM said: 'We have received a request from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for military support, and on the advice of the defence secretary and the foreign secretary, I agreed to that request for defensive air-to-air refuelling.
'And I go back to the point I made about cost of living pressures [on entering Downing Street] and acting to secure the interests of Britain and the wider region, because of course Saudi Arabia has been experiencing attacks, is looking at potential further disruption, and we need to keep those pathways open, and hence our agreement to the request.'
PM Andy Burnham and his wife Marie-France van Heel board a plane for the US to attend the 81st United Nations General Assembly in New York City on September 21
A Royal Air Force A400M taxiing back to the apron after landing at Trondheim Airport after it's flight from Jan Mayen
The deployment is set to begin within days. The PM said it would be 'time-limited'. Officials last night indicated the RAF could remain involved for weeks.
Mr Burnham has approved the use of an RAF A400M Voyager aircraft, currently based in Cyprus.
It will be used to refuel jets patrolling Saudi skies against missile attacks but it will not assist with any offensive Saudi attacks on Houthi positions in Yemen.
The Houthis are widely seen as proxies of the Iranian regime, which is seeking to disrupt oil supplies to heap economic pain on the West following US/Israeli attacks this year.
The PM revealed he will also press Donald Trump to resolve the Middle East crisis during talks at the UN General Assembly.
He said: 'Of course the message is that we want to see an end to the conflict as quickly as possible and we stand ready to play our part.
'We have support in the region to maintain the Strait of Hormuz opening. We are playing our part.'
KioskNews shows a cleaned-up reading view extracted from the publisher’s page — the original always lives on their site, not ours.