October 30, 2007 (LPAC)--The first visit of a Saudi monarch to the United Kingdom in 20 years, has been met with a boycott by the leader of the Liberal Democrats, Vince Cable, and by protests outside the London Saudi embassy over the BAE-Saudi Al Yamamah arms deal and the Saudi human rights record. The visit occurs about ten months after the Serious Fraud Office was forced by Tony Blair's government to drop - on "national security grounds" - an investigation into corruption tied to BAE arms sales to Saudi Arabia during 1985-2007. At the time, Blair claimed that if the probe went ahead, cooperation between the two countries on counterterrorism would cease.

In a letter to the Saudi Ambassador, Cable said: "I have introduced three debates in Parliament this year expressing serious concerns over the Al Yamamah contract. I have also been very critical of members of the Saudi royal family and the Saudi record on human rights, including its maltreatment of British citizens. In my opinion, it is quite wrong for the British government to have proposed a state visit at this time.

Therefore, it would, I believe, be inappropriate for me to participate in a ceremonial state visit against this background." The Campaign Against the Arms Trade said: "It is not in the British public interest for our government to be subservient to BAE and the Saudi regime. Gordon Brown has a chance to demonstrate his independence from both by reopening the BAE-Saudi corruption inquiry."

It is also reported that Foreign Minister David Miliband cancelled his meeting with the Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal, on the grounds that his newly adopted infant son had just arrived.

Before his four-day visit to the UK, King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia attacked Britain for not making sufficient efforts in fighting international terrorism. In an interview to the BBC, the King said Britain failed to act on information passed by the Saudi authorities, which might have averted terrorist attacks, including the 2005 London bombings.

As Lyndon LaRouche and LPAC have documented, the Al Yamamah deal was not a simple case of bribes paid to Prince Bandar, the Saudi ambassador to the U.S., but rather involves the creation of a gigantic pool of funds, for special operations in behalf of the British Empire.

Despite the boycott, the Saudi monarch and his ministers will be guests of the Queen at Buckingham Palace during a visit which will include a ceremonial welcome, two banquets, and meetings with Gordon Brown, David Cameron and Prince Charles. Prince Bandar, King Abdullah's national security adviser, will also be staying at Buckingham Palace.