TWO-thirds of Scottish adults think the UK Government should stop selling arms and military equipment to Saudi Arabia, according to a new survey that also shows three-quarters of Scots (76%) say UK foreign policy should be guided by respect for human rights and ending conflict.

The findings come as a report from Christian Aid criticises the government for “double standards” and “complicity” in the war in Yemen. It warns the Government against inconsistency in its engagement on war and peace and demands that it stops selling arms to Saudi Arabia and other states which are violating international law.

It says the UK’s complicity in the Yemen war is in direct violation of its international commitments to regulate arms exports to states acting illegally and repressively, says the charity. It also claims the UK spends about £37 billion on its military, or nearly £600 per person per year which is, in effect, spending three-times what it spends on aid on the military.

The report – Resourcing war and peace: time to address the UK Government’s double standards – coincides with Christian Aid’s Christmas peacemakers appeal and a campaign by supporters who are sending Christmas cards to Foreign Secretary, Jeremy Hunt, echoing the call for the UK halts arms sales to the Saudi-led coalition.

It says the UK deliberately allocates at least half of its development spending to conflict-affected states and regions, yet more than 50% of its arms exports are now sold to countries within these same regions using their militaries to wage war abroad or repress their own people.

Christian Aid says this casts a shadow on the UK Government’s attempts to profile itself as a values-based international actor committed to tackling global conflict.

Peace talks over Yemen conclude today in Sweden, and the charity says this is a crucial moment for the UK as it tries to redefine its relationship with the European Union and the wider world.

It accuses the UK of fuelling war instead of peace, having over the last five years sold two-thirds of major arms exports to Gulf Arab States, with Saudi Arabia accounting for 49% of all such exports.

Sally Foster-Fulton, head of Christian Aid Scotland said: “We are heartened to see that the Scottish public is with us on this with two thirds believing these arms sales to Saudi Arabia should stop.

“It is staggering that two billion people live in countries affected by conflict, instability and violence which can only be exacerbated by the international arms trade which the UK is a major player.”

Karol Balfe, Christian Aid’s head of From Violence to Peace, said: “No other arms exporter comes close to this dependence on the Gulf market. The Royal Saudi Air Force is hugely dependent on British-made aircraft and missiles – maintained and supported in-country by British military and civilian technicians for its own operations.

“The UK Government risks putting its own perceived national security and domestic interests ahead of human security and protection of those living in conflict. In our work, we see that local actors make a huge difference in turning the tide of violence.”

Christian Aid chair Rowan Williams, the former Archbishop of Canterbury, added: “Fourteen million people are on the brink of famine as a result of a war in which the Government of the UK is directly complicit: arms sales from this country to Saudi Arabia have increased by two thirds since 2016 and now account for nearly half of Britain’s major arms exports.”

A Government spokesman said: “We operate one of the most robust export control regimes in the world and keep our defence exports to Saudi Arabia under careful and continual review. The UK is playing a leading role in responding to the crisis in Yemen both through its UK aid programmes and its diplomatic influence, including by meeting the immediate food needs of four million Yemenis.”