Recently a number of constituents have written to
me about the UK's continued licensing of equipment to Saudi Arabia for use in
Yemen, in light of a court ruling in June that the sale of UK-made arms
to Saudi forces for use in Yemen was in fact unlawful.
Following the ruling, the UK Government has now
said it will now stop granting any new licences for weapons exports to Saudi
Arabia or coalition partners involved militarily in Yemen.
The International Trade Secretary has apologised to
the Commons in the past week after routine analysis of statistics found a
licence for the air cooler for a Renault Sherpa Light Scout vehicle had been
issued in the days following the ruling.
An internal inquiry has been launched by the DiT’s
permanent secretary to establish whether other licences had been issued against
the assurances to the court or Parliament, and to ensure there could be no
further breaches.
The Government has repeatedly assured
parliamentarians and the public that it is seriously concerned about the
humanitarian situation in Yemen. Since the start of the crisis in 2015 our
humanitarian commitment to Yemen now stands at £770m.
Ultimately the only lasting solution to peace in Yemen
is through a political settlement. The UK Government is actively supporting the
UN Special Envoy for Yemen in his efforts to bring the various parties on both
sides around the table to find a way forward.
