Labour is calling for the urgent re-establishment of parliament’s watchdog on arms exports to investigate whether British weapons sold to Saudi Arabia are breaching international humanitarian law in Yemen.
Hilary Benn, the shadow foreign secretary, urged action by the House of Commons committee on arms export controls after it emerged that the body has not re-convened since the general election last May.
This means the UK’s arms sales have not been subject to independent scrutiny for more than nine months. The committee had been instrumental in embarrassing the coalition governmentover its decision to allow the sale of chemicals that could have been used in nerve agent weapons in Syria.
Formed of members of the foreign affairs, defence, development and business committees, it ceased its work after its chair, Sir John Stanley, retired last year after 15 years at the helm.
With no sign of it reconvening since, Benn wrote to the chairs of the four committees on Tuesday, saying there was an pressing need to scrutinise the sale of UK arms to Saudi Arabia, which is using them in Yemen.
He said the humanitarian situation in Yemen, where a Saudi-led coalition is fighting rebel Houthis, is increasingly desperate, with 7,000 civilians having been killed by airstrikes.
“Given the growing number of reports and public concern, I believe the case for a full and detailed assessment of whether there is a clear risk that British weapons might be used in violation of international humanitarian law in Yemen is now overwhelming. I hope therefore that the new committee will urgently consider examining the government’s approach to these licences,” Benn wrote.
British weapons companies have sold more than £5.6bn worth of arms, fighter jets and other military equipment to Riyadh under David Cameron, according to the Campaign Against the Arms Trade (CAAT). British “people on the ground” are also working with the Saudi military on targeting strikes in Yemen, according to the foreign secretary, Philip Hammond.
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