Watchdog says Middle Eastern governments involved in arms dealing are continuing threat to regional security and stability

Arab states that buy billions of dollars worth of weapons are at high risk of corruption and pose a continuing threat to regional security and stability, according to a new report by watchdog Transparency International.

As foreign secretary Philip Hammond continues a Gulf tour, the organisation warns that 16 of 17 Middle Eastern governments are graded as posing either a very high or critical risk of defence corruption. Only Tunisia performs better, although is still classed as high risk.

Hammond is meeting the leaders of Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates to discuss regional security and the crisis in Syria, ahead of talks in Vienna on Friday.

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This article was written by Ian Black for The Guardian on Oct. 28, 2015. Ian Black is the Guardian's Middle East editor.