Fury as Ashdown links Tories to 'rich Arabs' who fund the jihadists: Former Lib Dem leader suggests 'closeness' means ministers are reluctant to tackle Gulf States
- Lord Ashdown said 'rich businessmen' in Gulf countries are funding terror
- Also said nations like Saudi Arabia haven't been fighting hard against ISIS
- Claims David Cameron must 'pressure' states to 'play their part'
- Downing Street slapped down Ashdown's suggestion and praised 'strong' relationship
Accusation: Lord Ashdown, pictured leaving Lib Dem HQ after his party's disastrous general election performance, criticised Tory-Arab links
Links between the Conservative Party and ‘rich Arabs’ are hindering the fight against extremism, Lord Ashdown claimed yesterday.
In an incendiary intervention, the former Liberal Democrat leader suggested that the ‘closeness’ between the Tories and unnamed wealthy Arabs had made ministers reluctant to tackle Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states over support for extremism.
Lord Ashdown said it was essential that any strategy for tackling Islamic State (IS) in Syria addressed the role of the states such as Saudi Arabia and Qatar.
Although the two countries are nominally part of the military coalition against IS, Lord Ashdown said neither had been involved in military action for months.
At the same time, funds were continuing to flow from the two countries to the extremists, he said. He told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: ‘I don’t say the governments have been doing it, but their rich businessmen certainly have.’
He said that the Prime Minister’s strategy on Syria needed to include international pressure on the Gulf states to ensure they ‘play their part’ in the coalition.
‘One element of this which is pressure on the Gulf states to stop funding Sunni jihadism, and pressure on the Gulf states if we are going to send our aircraft in to make sure that theirs are present too, is a crucial part of this strategy,’ he said.
The comments brought a swift rebuke from Downing Street.
Share this article
A spokesman for the Prime Minister rejected the suggestion that the Saudis and Qataris had exerted undue influence. ‘We have had long relationships with these two countries. We have worked closely with them on a whole range of issues,’ he said.
'Long relationships': David Cameron is pictured receiving an honour from King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia in 2012. When the king died earlier this year, flags across the UK were lowered in his honour
‘The strength of the relationship that we have means that nothing is off the table. We will go to them and talk to them about these issues.’
Sir Alan Duncan, a Tory member of Parliament’s Intelligence and Security Committee, said: ‘Paddy normally talks good sense on this issue, but he has gone rather bonkers this time.’
Tory Nadine Dorries described Lord Ashdown as ‘the most self-important, up his own backside, failed politician in Westminster’.
Most watched News videos
- Russian soldiers catch 'Ukrainian spy' on motorbike near airbase
- Lords vote against Government's Rwanda Bill
- Shocking moment passengers throw punches in Turkey airplane brawl
- Shocking moment balaclava clad thief snatches phone in London
- Suspected migrant boat leaves France's coast and heads to the UK
- Shocking moment man hurls racist abuse at group of women in Romford
- Moment fire breaks out 'on Russian warship in Crimea'
- Mother attempts to pay with savings account card which got declined
- Brazen thief raids Greggs and walks out of store with sandwiches
- Five migrants have been killed after attempting to cross the Channel
- Vacay gone astray! Shocking moment cruise ship crashes into port
- Shocking moment woman is abducted by man in Oregon
