A “SHAMEFUL” deal to sell 48 Typhoon fighter jets to Saudi Arabia will mean “even greater destruction for the people of Yemen,” anti-arms trade campaigners said yesterday.

The sale was announced at the end of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s three-day visit to Britain.

Saudi Arabia is Britain’s biggest arms customer, having licensed £4.6 billion-worth of equipment since beginning its bombardment of its southern neighbour Yemen in early 2015.

These include £2.7bn worth of ML10 licences, which cover aircraft, helicopters and drones, as well as £1.9bn worth of ML4 licences, which cover grenades, bombs and missiles.

A recent poll found that just 6 per cent of Britons support arms sales to Saudi Arabia and that more people opposed the state visit than supported it.

Prince Mohammed is personally overseeing the bombing of Yemen, where tens of thousands have been killed or injured. Saudi Arabia’s execution rate has also doubled to 133 since he became heir-apparent last July.

Campaign Against Arms Trade’s (CAAT) Andrew Smith said: “For decades now, successive UK governments have enjoyed a toxic and damaging relationship with the Saudi regime.

“By rolling out the red carpet for the crown prince, Theresa May has shown how low she will sink to maintain it.

“Yemen has endured three years of bombardment and one of the worst humanitarian crises in the world. UK arms companies have profited every step of the way.

“If Ms May really cares for the rights of people being repressed in Saudi Arabia, or bombed in Yemen, then she must stop arming and supporting the brutal Saudi dictatorship.”