Clive Lewis MP, Labour’s Shadow Secretary of State for Defence, responding to the publication of the Committees on Arms Export Controls’ report on arms sales to Saudi Arabia, said:

“Labour has been calling for the suspension of arms sales to Saudi Arabia for months now, and this report reinforces the urgency of doing so.

"We should never accept even the possibility that British-built weapons could be used to commit war crimes, regardless of who we sell them to. But after turning a blind eye to atrocities in Yemen for months, and issuing contradictory and misleading statements, this government is now simply echoing the views of the Saudi authorities themselves.

"The Committees on Arms Export Controls play a vital role in scrutinising the sale of British arms overseas and the Government should take their views extremely seriously. At a bare minimum any further sales to the Saudi government should be suspended, with immediate effect, while the time is taken to review the Committee’s findings.”