Paul Flynn – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Flynn on 2015-11-16.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with his Saudi Arabian counterpart on (a) support given by nationals of Saudi Arabia to ISIS and (b) ways to stop such assistance.

Mr Tobias Ellwood

Saudi Arabia has suffered first hand with a series of attacks on mosques by ISIL in recent months. Saudi Arabia has also been at the forefront of international efforts to defeat ISIL. Saudi Arabia was one of the first countries to participate in air strikes against ISIL in Syria, and the King and religious establishment continue to publicly condemn ISIL, and to emphasise that ISIL do not in any way represent the teachings of Islamic faith.

The Saudi Arabian Government is working to reduce the threat that religious extremists pose in Saudi Arabia and elsewhere, and has a comprehensive set of laws in place to prevent terrorist financing, which it enforces vigorously. The Foreign Secretary discussed UK–Saudi cooperation in tackling ISIL during his visit to the Kingdom on 28 October.