UK Prime Minister Theresa May has defended making trade deals with Saudia Arabia and Bahrain, despite them being under fire from human rights groups. Speaking on 6 December on HMS Ocean in Bahrain, she said that if Britain was going to influence Gulf leaders and improve human rights in the area, they needed to be engaging with them. Theresa May is in the Gulf to strengthen trade talks post-Brexit, and to also oversee measures to improve security to help tackle terrorism in the area.