Parliament misled over Saudi using UK bombs
MINISTERS have repeatedly misled Parliament about the use of Britishmade cluster bombs by Saudi Arabian forces in Yemen, the Foreign Office admitted last night.
In an unprecedented move, Tobias Ellwood, a minister at the department, issued ‘corrections’ to six statements on the Yemen crisis dating back almost six months.
MPs and campaigners have been pressing the Government over the use by Saudi Arabia of British weapons and expertise in its bloody incursion in neighbouring Yemen. In statements dating back to February, ministers have said that ‘we have assessed that there has not been a breach of international humanitarian law by the coalition’.
But Mr Ellwood admitted they should have said ‘we have been unable to assess that there has been a breach of international humanitarian law by the Saudi-led coalition’.
The written answer also said it was not for the UK Government to assess the Saudi bombing operation. Liberal Democrat leader Tim Farron said it was an outrage it had been slipped out on the final day of the parliamentary sitting along with other bad news.
He added: ‘Having spent all year claiming to have made assessments on whether Saudi Arabia is breaking international humanitarian law in Yemen, we now see no such assessment has been made, and that MPs have been misled on this issue. This sordid affair tarnishes Britain’s standing in the world.’
Yemen has been embroiled in civil war since 2014 when Shia rebels, known as the Houthis, toppled the Saudi-backed government. The Houthis are now under attack from a Saudiled coalition. Critics claim the UK’s close military links to Riyadh make it complicit in the horrors of the conflict.
The U-turn is a major embarrassment for Chancellor Philip Hammond, who, as Foreign Secretary, was adamant that there was no question of abuses. In January, he said: ‘There is no evidence that international humanitarian law has been breached.’
The Government is facing a court case that it should ban arms sales to Saudi Arabia. The European Parliament has also voted for an embargo while the Yemen conflict continues.