REACTION: Parliamentary question on breach of pledge not to licence arms to Saudi

“The incompetence revealed by the shambolic process that led the government to breach its pledge not to licence arms to the Saudi-led coalition for use in Yemen is shocking and demonstrates the need for an urgent overhaul of the arms licensing process in the UK.

“This kind of blunder could have very real consequences for the people of Yemen who have been hit by death, disease and hunger during more than four years of war – a war fuelled by British arms sales.

“It is time for the UK government to accept the judgement handed down by the Court of Appeal earlier this year, stop the licensing of arms to Saudi Arabia and put the lives of the Yemeni people before the profit of the arms traders.”