UK's Burnham agrees to Saudi request for refuelling

British Prime Minister Andy Burnham said on Monday he had agreed to a request from Saudi Arabia to provide defensive air-to-air refuelling for a limited time period, a move he described as helping to stabilise the wider region.



Riyadh requested support after the Houthis, who control the most populous parts of Yemen, intensified their attacks on Saudi Arabia, a new front in the wider war that began with U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran in late February.



"We have received a request from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for military support, and on the advice of the defence secretary and the foreign secretary, last night I agreed to that request for defensive air-to-air refuelling," Burham told reporters as he travelled to New York for a meeting of the United Nations General Assembly.



Britain and Saudi Arabia have been close military allies for decades, with Britain serving as one of the kingdom's largest arms suppliers.