Saudi King Criticises Britain's Approach to Terrorism

King Abdullah said most nations were not viewing terrorism seriously enough King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia has claimed that Britain is taking insufficient measures against the threat of international terrorism, adding that a 30-year fight could be on the cards. His comments were included within an interview given to the BBC prior to visiting the UK this week– the first such state trip to be made by a figure within the Saudi Monarchy since the 1980s.

Speaking to the BBC, King Abdullah highlighted how British efforts against eliminating terrorism in all its guises needed to be much more intensive – adding that al-Qaeda was a continued source of trouble for Saudi Arabia itself. According to one correspondent working at the BBC, the King is aggrieved by the failure of the rest of the world to implement his notion for a United Nations-operated centre for terror-data assimilation.

Saudi Terrorism Data Could Have Prevented 2005 London Bombings

The middle-eastern monarch emphasised how, in his opinion, the majority of nations, “including, unfortunately, Great Britain” were simply not viewing the threat of terrorism with enough gravitas. Britain, he said, could have thwarted terrorist attacks had it acted on information given it by Saudi Arabia.

"We have sent information to Great Britain before the terrorist attacks in Britain but unfortunately no action was taken”, he stated, adding: “...it may have been able to maybe avert the tragedy."

His reference here were the London bombings in July 2005.

However, according to another BBC worker, claims that Saudi intelligence was transmitted prior to the attacks are unsubstantiated. They have been strongly denied by officials at Whitehall; additionally – a post-attack investigation carried out by the Intelligence and Security Committee discovered no evidence of data received from Saudi Arabia that may have acted to disrupt the terrorists’ plans.

Saudi’s King’s UK Visit Controversial

King Abdullah’s imminent UK visit has opened up new channels of controversy regarding the relationship between Britain and Saudi Arabia. A demonstration is set to go ahead around the site of London’s Saudi embassy building, while Vince Cable – the acting leader of the Liberal Democrats – has stated he will not be attending the visit. His reasons are understood to include his feelings regarding the infamous Anglo/ Saudi Al-Yamamah military equipment deal – forged in the mid 1980s, but back in the public eye in recent months due to claims of corruption.

Source – Security International’s Current Affairs Correspondent