UK supporting Saudi Arabia could help keep fuel prices down, minister claims

Providing British military support to Saudi Arabia should help contain additional surges in fuel costs, according to a defence minister.

Luke Pollard explained that sending an RAF refuelling plane to the region was intended to stop “further escalation” within the Red Sea, a crucial corridor for oil shipments currently targeted by Yemeni Houthis backed by Iran.

Energy prices have already shot up following conflict involving Iran and the shutting down of the Strait of Hormuz.

Should the Bab al-Mandab strait—the sole southern passage to the Suez Canal—also close, international crude supplies would face even greater strain.

In remarks to the BBC, Mr Pollard stated that while the government has moved to reduce living costs, “ultimately” only stability across Ukraine and the Middle East will lower fuel prices.

He said: “We’re working with our friends to try and deliver that de-escalation, and part of the reason why we deployed the RAF Voyager to Saudi Arabia, for instance, is to ensure there’s not further escalation in the Red Sea, which could further risk our fuel prices.”

The deployment, announced by prime minister Andy Burnham on his way to the UN General Assembly in New York, will see the Voyager aircraft provide air-to-air refuelling for Saudi jets.

The government has insisted the UK mission will be used only to assist jets defending Saudi Arabia from Houthi attacks, and not those carrying out strikes in Yemen.

Mr Pollard said the UK action would also comply with international law, and told Sky News it was the morally right thing to do.

He said: “In dangerous times, good friends stand together, and there’s a morality of being true to our allies.”

The use of the Voyager tanker is expected to start within days and the mission will be time-limited, with officials indicating it could last for “weeks”.

The refuelling mission is in addition to the UK Sky Sabre air defence system already deployed in Saudi Arabia.

Mr Burnham said he was “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”.