THE British government has sold £16 billion worth of arms to human rights abusing regimes, including Turkey and Saudi Arabia, over the past decade, research revealed today.

Government statistics collated by Campaign Against the Arms Trade (CAAT) shows that between 2010 and 2019 Britain licensed arms to 36 countries considered “not free” by human rights monitoring group Freedom House. 

Some of Britain’s biggest customers in death and destruction have been despotic regimes in the Middle East with the government licensing £9.3bn worth of arms to Saudi Arabia, £2.5bn to Oman and £1.4bn to Turkey, according to the research.