UK faces pressure to stop refuelling Saudi jets amid Yemen conflict escalation

A coalition of NGOs and academic experts sent an open letter to Prime Minister Andy Burnham and Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband demanding that the United Kingdom cease refuelling Saudi Royal Air Force jets operating over Yemen. The letter, signed by the Campaign Against Arms Trade, Action on Armed Violence, Shadow World Investigations UK, the Yemen Relief and Reconstruction Foundation and numerous scholars, warns that continued support could render the UK complicit in violations of international humanitarian law.

It references data showing 25,054 Saudi-led coalition air strikes between 2015 and 2022 and a UN Development Programme estimate of 377,000 deaths linked to the conflict. Recent escalations have displaced roughly 130,000 people and caused 110 casualties, including 28 deaths. The signatories also criticize Britain’s role in US-led strikes against Houthis in spring 2025, which a Pentagon assessment linked to 281 civilian casualties. They argue that further air strikes will not defeat the Houthis and urge diplomatic efforts to de-escalate the war.