Survivors of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attack are urging British Prime Minister Theresa May to publish a report on Saudi Arabia’s alleged funding of extremists in the UK.
The government last week announced the Home Office report, which was commissioned by former Prime Minister David Cameron, will not be published because of “national security reasons.”
The announcement that the report, completed six months ago, is being permanently shelved has sparked widespread condemnation amid claims the government is trying to cover up substantial evidence of Saudi Arabia funding terrorist organizations in the UK.
The Saudis are Britain’s main trade and security partner in the Middle East.
Joining the chorus of opposition, a group of 9/11 survivors have signed a letter to the Tory leader, urging her to publish the report.
“The UK now has the unique historic opportunity to stop the killing spree of Wahhabism-inspired terrorists by releasing the UK government’s report on terrorism financing in the UK which, according to media reports, places Saudi Arabia at its center of culpability,” the group said in a letter signed by 15 people.
“The longer Saudi Arabia’s complicity is hidden from sunlight, the longer terrorism will continue.
“They must be stopped; but who will stop them? We submit that you are uniquely situated to shine the cleansing light of public consciousness,” the group added, according to the Independent.
The group pushed for the report to be published even if it is yet to be completed, while urging May to keep in mind the thousands of victims of terrorist attacks.
The letter has also been sent to opposition representatives, including Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn.
Green Party co-leader Caroline Lucas, who blasted the government’s “unacceptable” decision to suppress the report, hailed the letter.
“The government accepts that foreign funding is a significant source of income for some extremist groups here in Britain – but they won’t say in public where that money is coming from,” she told the Independent.
“This group of 9/11 survivors are right to demand answers ... and I hope Theresa May takes heed of their calls.”
Sharon Premoli, one of the authors of the letter, is among those who have filed a legal suit against the Saudi government, arguing the 9/11 attack could not have taken place without the regime’s aid.
“9/11 could not have happened without Saudi Arabia’s support for Al-Qaeda,” said lead lawyer Jim Kreindler, according to the paper.
The bi-partisan US 9/11 Commission Report, however, “found no evidence that the Saudi government as an institution or senior Saudi officials individually funded the organization.”
The Tory government has already faced harsh questions over the viability of its diplomatic ties with Saudi Arabia, especially after it emerged that Britain is selling arms to the Gulf state. Those very same arms are reportedly being used in the Saudi-led campaign against Houthi rebels in Yemen, where thousands have been killed.