(Sutton
Coldfield) (Con)
(Urgent Question): To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign,
Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will make a statement
on the level of aid funding to Yemen.
The Minister for the Middle East and North Africa ()
I thank my right hon. Friend the Member for Sutton Coldfield (Mr
Mitchell) for raising this urgent question. The situation in
Yemen remains among the worst humanitarian crises in the world.
Two thirds of the entire population—more than 20 million
people—require some form of humanitarian assistance. The UN
estimates that in the first half of this year, 47,000 people will
be in famine conditions and 16.2 million will be at risk of
starvation. Improving the dire circumstances faced by so many
Yemenis continues to be a priority for this Government.
Yesterday, I attended the high-level pledging conference for the
United Nations humanitarian appeal for Yemen. I announced that
the UK will provide at least—I repeat, at least—£87 million in
aid to Yemen over the course of financial year 2021-22. Our total
aid contribution since the conflict began was already over £1
billion. This new pledge will feed an additional 240,000 of the
most vulnerable Yemenis every month, support 400 health clinics
and provide clean water for 1.6 million people. We will also
provide one-off cash support to 1.5 million of Yemen’s poorest
households to help them buy food and basic supplies.
Alongside the money that the UK is spending to reduce
humanitarian suffering in Yemen, we continue to play a leading
diplomatic role in support of the UN’s efforts to end the
conflict. Yesterday, I spoke to the United Nations special envoy,
Martin Griffiths, and we discussed how the UK could assist him in
ending this devastating war. Last week, the United Nations
Security Council adopted a UK-drafted resolution that reiterated
the Council’s support for the United Nations peace process,
condemned the Houthi offensive in Marib and attacks on Saudi
Arabia and sanctioned Houthi official Sultan Zabin for the use of
sexual violence as a tool of war.
Just last night, a Houthi missile hit and injured five civilians
in southern Saudi Arabia. I condemn that further attack by the
Houthis on civilian targets in Saudi Arabia and reiterate our
commitment to help Saudi Arabia defend itself.
We are also working closely with our regional and international
partners for peace. On 25 February, the Foreign Secretary spoke
to the Saudi Foreign Minister, Faisal bin Farhan, about the Yemen
peace process, and he also recently discussed this with the US
Secretary of State. I discussed Yemen with the Omani ambassador
to the UK on 4 February and spoke to the Yemeni Foreign Minister
on 20 January regarding the attack on Aden and the formation of a
new Yemeni Cabinet.
The UK is also leading efforts to tackle covid-19 in Yemen and
around the world. This month, as part of the UN Security Council
presidency, my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary called for
a ceasefire across the globe to allow vulnerable people living in
conflict zones to be vaccinated against covid-19. The UK, as one
the biggest donors to the World Health Organisation and GAVI’s
COVAX initiative, is helping ensure that millions of vaccine
doses get through to people living in crises such as Yemen.
I thank my right hon. Friend for raising this question and thank
hon. Members for their continued interest in Yemen. The conflict
and humanitarian crisis deserves our attention, and the UK
Government remain fully committed to doing what we can to help
secure a better future for Yemenis.
Mr Mitchell
The Minister is a decent fellow and will not have enjoyed what he
announced yesterday. Last night, he will have heard the United
Nations Secretary-General tell him that, for Yemen,
“cutting aid is a death sentence.”
Cutting it by 50% is unconscionable. As Sir Mark Lowcock, a
senior and respected British official at the UN, said, millions
of Yemeni children
“will continue the slow, agonising and obscene process of
starving to death”.
I understand that I remain the only European politician who has
recently been into Sa’dah in north Yemen to see an acute
malnutrition ward in the hospital there, part-funded by the
British taxpayer—life-saving work, which will now be halved. My
right hon. Friend told the House just last month that
“Yemen will remain a UK priority”—[Official Report, 8 February
2021; Vol. 689, c. 31.]
and yet the fifth richest country in the world is cutting support
by more than half to one of the poorest countries in the
world—and during a global pandemic.
Every single Member of this House was elected just over a year
ago on a promise to maintain the 0.7%. Aid has already been cut
under that formula because our economy has contracted, but the
Government told the House that they would protect seven strategic
priorities, including “human preparedness and response”. No one
in this House believes that the Foreign Secretary wants to do
this. It is a harbinger of terrible cuts to come. Everyone in
this House knows that the cut to the 0.7% is not a result of
tough choices; it is a strategic mistake with deadly
consequences.
Mr Speaker, this is not who we are. This is not how global
Britain acts. We are a generous, decent country. The 0.7% is
enshrined in law. This House must surely have a vote. We must all
search our consciences.
I genuinely thank my right hon. Friend. He speaks with authority
and passion as an experienced Member of this House and as a
former Secretary of State for International Development. I remind
the House that the commitment we made at the pledging conference
represents a floor, not a ceiling, and that the figures that we
have ultimately distributed in previous years have, in every one
of those years, exceeded the figure pledged. We are going through
a process at the moment where we work out how we distribute our
official development assistance. In whatever way that process
concludes, we will remain, in both absolute and percentage terms,
one of the most generous ODA-donating countries in the world, and
to Yemen itself, we still remain one of the largest donors to
that humanitarian crisis.
Mr Speaker
I now call the shadow Minister, , who also has two minutes.
(Birmingham, Edgbaston) (Lab/Co-op) [V]
The Government’s announcement yesterday at the high pledging
conference discarded the British people’s proud history of
stepping up and supporting those in need. In the middle of a
pandemic, when millions stand on the brink of famine, the
Government slashed life-saving support to the largest
humanitarian crisis in the world, halving direct aid to Yemen
weeks after they announced £1.36 billion in new arms licences to
Saudi Arabia. This is a devastating reminder of the real world
impact that the Government’s choices to abandon their manifesto
commitment on aid will have on the most vulnerable people and
shows that this Government just cannot be trusted to keep their
word.
After six years of brutal conflict, two thirds of the Yemeni
population rely on food aid to survive and thousands of people in
the country are at risk of famine. Cutting aid is a death
sentence that this Government have chosen to make, so will the
Minister take this opportunity to apologise? Alongside this cut
in humanitarian support, the UK continues to sustain the war in
Yemen. Will the Minister follow the lead set by President Biden
by stopping all UK arms sales to the Saudi-led coalition, so that
we can use our role as the penholder on Yemen to help bring this
brutal conflict to an end?
If the Foreign Secretary is willing to brazenly slash support to
people living in the world’s worst humanitarian disaster, despite
claiming for months that humanitarian crises were a priority,
then the question is, what is going to happen to the rest of the
aid budget on other priorities? The Minister has refused
“to talk to the aid and development community about what will be
cut”
because he is ashamed. He is ashamed that the Government’s cuts
will put millions of people’s lives at risk. This Government
cannot continue to pretend otherwise. So will they publish a full
list of the cuts made in 2020 and of the cuts to be made in 2021
by the end of this week?
What we saw yesterday are not the actions of global Britain. That
phrase rings hollow. Make no mistake: as the UK abandons its
commitment to 0.7%, it is simultaneously undermining our global
reputation. Does the Minister believe that he has the support of
this House to make this appalling cut and, if so, will he bring
forward a vote on the 0.7% commitment? Tomorrow, the Chancellor
has a choice. He must reverse his decision to make the UK the
only G7 nation to cut its aid budget. He must reverse his
Government’s retreat from the world stage and celebrate Britain’s
proud history as a country that stands up for the world’s poorest
and most vulnerable in society. That is the true test of global
Britain.
Our aid budget, our ODA spend, is incredibly important. My right
hon. Friend the Chancellor has made it clear that, this year,
that figure will remain at £10 billion. That £10 billion
represents one of the largest aid budgets in both absolute terms
and relative terms in the globe. The hon. Member speaks about the
change from 0.7% to 0.5%. I remind the House that Labour
politicians have been talking about 0.7% of GNI as an ODA budget
for decades, yet they never once got near it. Even in years of
benign economic circumstances, they never went above 0.51%. Under
Conservative Prime Ministers, this country has spent 0.7%
consistently, and we have done so even in difficult economic
circumstances. As I am sure the Chancellor will outline tomorrow
in the Budget, we are now presented with a unique set of economic
circumstances that are unprecedented in our lifetime,
representing a constriction of the UK economy unseen in
centuries. And yet, against that backdrop, we maintain a
commitment to spend £10 billion on the international stage.
Money is not the only thing that the UK can deploy in support of
the people of Yemen. I outlined in departmental questions the
work that my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary has done at
the international level to bring about change in the UN Security
Council. I spoke yesterday with Martin Griffiths, the UN special
representative, about the diplomatic efforts the UK can bring to
bear to bring about the end of the conflict, because that is the
precursor to a truly sustainable improvement in the situation.
That is why we condemn the continued attacks by the Houthis and
those who support them. That is why we have sanctioned senior
Houthi leaders for the use of sexual violence as a tool of war,
and that is why we will continue working bilaterally and
internationally to bring about a conclusion to this terrible
conflict.
(Tonbridge and Malling) (Con) [V]
I welcome my right hon. Friend saying that this is a “floor, not
a ceiling”; I hope that the ceiling will be somewhat greater than
he has announced. Does he agree that the UK’s position, while
generous, leaves a large gap if there is any cut, and the world’s
poorest will be the ones to suffer? Has he reached out to Saudi
Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Oman to ask them to help
fill the gap, or perhaps even Iran, which has used the Houthi
people as its tools and instruments of violence in the region?
Has he asked it to stop the instrumentalisation of terror and to
perhaps fund the rebuilding after the destruction that it has
caused?
My hon. Friend the Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee
makes a very good point about the convening power that the UK can
exercise and the strong bilateral relations we have with
countries in the region. I am pleased to see that a number of
countries in the Gulf were very generous, even though they, like
us, are suffering from economic difficulties. We will continue to
lobby the international community for support. I have not had
and, unfortunately, I do not think we currently enjoy, the
bilateral relations with Iran to make credible requests, or to
make requests that will be forthcoming, but we will continue to
encourage and push Iran to be a better regional neighbour and a
better regional partner. In the immediate term, we strongly
encourage Iran to stop supporting the Houthis, and we encourage
the Houthis to end their campaign of violence against Yemenis and
Saudis alike.
Mr Speaker
I call the SNP spokesperson , who has one minute.
(Dundee West) (SNP) [V]
Gosh, this Government should hang their head in shame. The UK
cutting humanitarian aid to Yemen by 50% is confirmation that the
UK Government are playing a pivotal role in the worst
humanitarian disaster in the world. The UK has shamefully
confirmed that it will continue to sell arms to Saudi Arabia,
laying bare the reality of this Government’s vision for global
Britain—profiteering from weapons without concern for the
devastation they cause, and relinquishing its responsibility to
those who are starving and to save lives. Let us be in no doubt:
this is not global Britain—this is more like little Britain.
Indeed, the UK is actively adding to 16 million people being put
into hunger, 5 million civilians facing starvation and more than
3 million people being displaced as a result of this conflict. As
Mark Lowcock said at the UN,
“If you’re not feeding the people, you’re feeding the war.”
In response to continued SNP calls to halt UK arms sales to the
Saudis, this Government have always stated that they are also the
biggest aid contributor, in order to clear their conscience. So I
ask the Minister: is his conscience still clear, and what is this
Government’s response going to be following these death sentence
cuts?
I remind the hon. Gentleman that the United Kingdom remains one
of the largest donor countries—not just to the Yemen humanitarian
crisis appeal, but on the international stage. I also remind him
that, just yesterday, Houthis sent missile attacks against
civilians that injured Saudis and Yemenis alike. The best thing
that can happen to secure a sustainable humanitarian improvement
is the end of the conflict, and the UK is working hard to do
that. However, countries have the right to defend themselves, and
the consistent attacks—both within Yemen and into Saudi—must
stop. Our support for the humanitarian situation in Yemen will
remain. We remain one of the largest donors and, as I say, we are
proud of the fact that we are helping to feed children, and to
provide clean water and medical assistance.
(Calder
Valley) (Con) [V]
My right hon. Friend will know that the UK is one of the biggest
donors to the crisis in Yemen, committing well over £1 billion in
UK aid since the conflict began back in 2015, but we all know
that money alone is not enough. Does he agree that progress can
be made only through international co-operation, with everyone
playing their part to solve the crisis?
My hon. Friend is absolutely right. Money makes a difference. We
recognise that, which is why we remain one of the most generous
bilateral donors to the humanitarian appeal. But money itself
will not bring about a positive conclusion to the situation in
Yemen. That is the philosophy that underpinned the merger of the
Foreign and Commonwealth Office, and the Department for
International Development. To ensure that our diplomatic efforts
and our development efforts go hand-in-hand, the Foreign
Secretary and I regularly raise the issues of this conflict with
regional partners and others, and work with the United Nations
and Special Representative Martin Griffiths to bring about a
permanent conclusion to the conflict in Yemen. We will continue
to do so until that comes about.
(Rotherham) (Lab) [V]
Minister, what is the reason behind cutting the aid to Yemen by
60%? What impact assessment has been made of cutting aid to those
who were previously supported? I am particularly thinking about
the impact on women and girls, people with disabilities and
internally displaced people.
I remind the hon. Lady, for whom I have a huge amount of respect,
and the House that, as I said in my speech, this represents a
floor, not a ceiling. In every year previously, we have exceeded
our initial pledging total, and we hope to be able to do so again
in this situation. However, I also remind the House that we face
an unprecedented economic situation. The Prime Minister, the
Foreign Secretary and the Chancellor have all made it clear that
this is a temporary reduction and that we will seek to get back
to the 0.7% as soon as the economic circumstances allow us to do
so. We will continue our work on the international sphere to
address what we hope to be the short-term issues of this
humanitarian crisis, while putting in the full weight of UK
diplomatic efforts to try to bring about a sustainable and
peaceful solution to the conflict.
(Bury
South) (Con)
Our £214 million-worth of aid funding for Yemen this year will
support at least 500,000 vulnerable people each month to help
them buy them food and household essentials, treat 55,000
children for malnutrition, and provide 1 million people with
improved water supply and basic sanitation. Will my right hon.
Friend reassure the House that he is stressing to the conflict
parties that it is essential that they allow this aid to reach
the areas that it is intended to help? Does he agree that, given
these figures, now is not the time to be reducing aid to those
whom we supply in Yemen who are most in need?
I recognise the point that my hon. Friend makes about the
totality of our aid spending and my colleagues will have heard
that. We also very much support his point about ensuring that the
aid gets to the people who need it and that we maintain
humanitarian corridors. That is why we have spoken with the
Houthis and others about ensuring that those humanitarian
corridors are maintained.
(Islington North) (Ind) [V]
The crisis in Yemen is wholly human made. Thousands have died as
a result of the war, thousands of children have lost homes and
lost schools, and poverty and starvation are the order of the
day. Britain’s record in this is appalling. Throughout this whole
conflict, we have armed Saudi Arabia knowing full well that those
missiles are killing people in Yemen, and at the same time
claiming to be the harbingers of peace by organising a resolution
at the United Nations. Will the Minister make it very clear that
all arms sales to Saudi Arabia will stop and that Britain will be
a determined partner in trying to bring about a peace process
through a ceasefire as quickly as possible and to build good
relations with all countries in the region? Too many people have
died. The conflict has gone on too long and it simply has to
stop. We should be a party to ending the war, not promoting the
war.
The right hon. Gentleman speaks with an authoritative voice,
particularly on Iran. Perhaps if he would also call upon the
Iranian regime to no longer give lethal support to the Houthis,
that might be a big step in the right direction to bring about
sustainable peace in Yemen.
(Haltemprice and Howden) (Con)
There is a strong convention that before a Government undertake a
policy that puts lives at risk, they get prior approval from this
House. We cannot make a 50% cut in this budget without cutting
into crisis and healthcare support, thereby putting at least
100,000 children’s lives at risk. Will my right hon. Friend
guarantee that before the Budget votes are held next week we can
have a written statement giving a breakdown of the cuts made this
year in the aid budget and undertaking that no more cuts will be
undertaken unless and until this House approves it?
I am not completely sure that the convention my right hon. Friend
refers to is relevant in this situation. As the Foreign Secretary
has said before, we are looking very carefully at what is
required by law. The legislation envisaged that the 0.7% target
may not be met in a particular year in the light of economic and
fiscal circumstances. The legislation provides for reporting to
Parliament in the event that the target is not met. The
Government obviously intend to abide by the legislation. The
economic situation is difficult to predict, but we do wish to get
back up to 0.7% as soon as the economic circumstances allow.
(Oxford
West and Abingdon) (LD) [V]
The Government’s appalling decision to cut aid to Yemen has been
described as “a death sentence” by the UN Secretary-General, and
he is right. This enormous cut, in a year when 400,000 children
under five might starve to death, is not only heartless but, just
like the cut to the 0.7%, damages the UK’s international
reputation, and they are doing this just weeks after announcing
£1.36 billion in new arms sales to Saudi Arabia—the exact
opposite of what the United States is doing. Is this what we can
now expect—the UK Government shrinking away from their
commitments, leaving other, more compassionate countries to pick
up the slack?
The hon. Lady implies that expenditure is the only appropriate
measure for compassion. If that is the case, she should recognise
that the UK is one of the most generous ODA-donating countries in
the world, in both absolute terms and relative terms. I therefore
remind her that she, and indeed the House, should remain proud of
the position the UK takes. However, I also remind her, and the
House, that we face unprecedented economic circumstances, and the
quicker that those are resolved, the quicker we can get back to
being the generous international aid donor that we all wish to
be.
(Ashford) (Con)
[V]
The legislation allows the Government to miss the 0.7% target by
accident or in an emergency, but not to plan to miss it for an
indefinite number of years ahead. Can my right hon. Friend give a
commitment today that further cuts will not be made until the
necessary legislation promised to this House by Ministers who
announced this policy has been put to a vote so that this House
can express a view?
I hear what my right hon. Friend says. The Foreign Secretary, as
I said, is looking carefully at the requirements of the
legislation. I can assure my right hon. Friend, from this
position at the Dispatch Box, that the Government are well able
to listen to the mood of the House without the need for
legislation in this Session.
(Leeds Central) (Lab) [V]
The Minister referred to the humanitarian aid that the UK has
already given to Yemen, which we recognise, but I am afraid he
has failed today to explain why the Government have now decided
to cut that contribution by more than half. Doing the right thing
in the past is not a justification for doing the wrong thing now.
Yesterday, a Yemeni aid worker co-ordinating food aid
distribution, said this:
“Children are dying every day here. It is not a moral decision to
abandon Yemen.”
Why have the Government done this when for example Germany, which
is also facing the same unprecedented economic situation—to use
his own words—has managed to pledge twice as much as the United
Kingdom?
Different countries at yesterday’s pledging events put forward
their pledges. Some increased their pledges; some reduced their
pledges. Each country is facing its own economic challenges. The
UK remains, despite the unprecedented economic circumstances we
face, one of the largest donors both in general terms and in
terms of humanitarian support for Yemen. I would also make the
point that while the money is of course incredibly important—that
is why we have committed to at least £87 million this financial
year—there are other resources we bring to bear to bring about an
improvement in this situation, including our voice on the
international stage, our lobbying power and our political power.
We will continue to work to bring about an end to the conflict in
Yemen.
Mr Speaker
We need to get on with the list. I am going to finish at ten
past.
(Totnes) (Con)
The Minister started his remarks by saying that money matters.
Yes it does, but what this cut represents is a cut to projects, a
cut to aid and a cut to assistance that will put lives in
jeopardy. If the Government are so reassured by their position,
then I suggest that they bring a vote to the House on this issue
and they can truly gauge the strength of feeling. We have a moral
duty to lead on this issue and I hope he will consider bringing a
vote before it is too late.
As I said previously, the Foreign Secretary is looking at the
legal requirements around the situation. I completely understand
my hon. Friend’s passion, but I remind him and the House that we
remain one of the largest donors in this humanitarian crisis.
(Strangford) (DUP)
According to the report published yesterday by the all-party
group for international freedom of religion or belief, the last
remaining Jewish communities in Yemen were ordered to leave in
2020 and the Yemeni Christian community, which once numbered some
41,000, has now shrunk to just a few thousand. Moreover, the
Yemeni Baha’i community faced increased persecution at the hands
of Houthi authorities last year. Will the Minister share his
views on how aid spending in Yemen can be better used to support
religious and belief minority groups in Yemen?
I thank the hon. Gentleman for his question. The UK provides
secondees to the office of Martin Griffiths, the UN special
representative. A number of those secondees focus specifically on
broad engagement with minorities within the peace process. I have
spoken on a number of occasions about the importance of ensuring
protection for minority communities and religious minorities in
conflicts, and about getting an inclusive set of people around
the negotiating table once peace negotiations are under way.
(East Worthing and Shoreham) (Con) [V]
As chair of the all-party group for Yemen, yesterday I spoke to
some very brave women from within Marib, which is under long-term
siege from the Houthis. They told me that most of the Houthi
forces are young men and teenage boys recruited from the most
impoverished parts of Yemen. They also told me that Marib is now
hosting over 2 million displaced people across 144 camps. Many
children are not just suffering from famine and disease; they
have been deeply traumatised after having been driven out by the
Houthis. They all rely on generous UK aid and the example it sets
to other countries who need to step up in the humanitarian aid
effort and the subsequent reconstruction. How can indicating a
cut in UK aid at this crucial time do anything but prolong this
terrible conflict?
The situation my hon. Friend describes in Marib is deeply
concerning. We have called on the Houthis to end their assault.
Marib has become the temporary home for many internally displaced
people, and the situation there is dire. A number of people have
mentioned our support for, or our relationship with, neighbouring
countries, and of course defending Marib against this Houthi
assault is part of the conversations we have. But, ultimately,
the best thing we can do is bring about a swift end to this
conflict.
(Glasgow Central) (SNP) [V]
No matter how much the Minister attempts to hide behind how much
the UK gives, it will not disguise the impact that this brutal
60% cut will have on the life chances of Yemenis. Save the
Children says that already 400,000 children under the age of five
are at risk of starving to death this year, so I ask the
Minister: how many deaths are he and this Tory Government
prepared to have on their conscience, because they certainly do
not act in my name?
The UK has consistently been one of the largest donors to the
humanitarian appeal, and our money is keeping people alive. We
are very proud of that fact. The economic circumstances we are
currently living through have meant that we have to temporarily
reduce the amount of money we are spending in overseas
development assistance, but as has been made clear by the Prime
Minister, the Foreign Secretary, the Chancellor and others, as
soon as the economic circumstances allow us to get back to where
we were, we will do so.
(Bournemouth East) (Con)
The humanitarian crisis is terrible, as has been said, and there
are also more international terrorist attacks organised from
Yemen than anywhere else in the world. The Biden Administration
is rewriting their foreign policy towards Yemen. I cannot think
of a better opportunity to end this tragic civil war, but I am
not picking up a Yemen strategy that befits the strap line of
global Britain. May I ask the Minister to match the political
courage of our closest security ally in tackling the humanitarian
crisis, cutting arms exports and being ready to lead any
peacekeeping force, should the UN require it, once a ceasefire is
agreed?
Yemen remains one of the priority areas for the Foreign,
Commonwealth and Development Office. As I say, I spoke only
yesterday to Martin Griffiths, and we discussed what further
support the UK Government can provide for his work to bring about
a sustainable ceasefire. The House will have heard, and indeed my
Government colleagues will have heard, the suggestions my right
hon. Friend has put forward. We will consider all suggestions to
bring about an improvement in Yemen, but at this stage I cannot
commit to the points he has made.
(Sheffield, Brightside and Hillsborough) (Lab)
The world’s largest humanitarian crisis is getting worse.
Blockades of ports and airports are restricting vital
humanitarian aid getting to the 80% of the population who need
it. This year alone, 2.3 million children under the age of five
face acute malnutrition. Cutting support as the country battles
coronavirus and faces a cholera outbreak is callous and
heartless. Can the Minister explain how this fits into the
Government’s pledge to build a global Britain?
The hon. Lady makes a very good point about access for
humanitarian aid, and I am very proud of the fact that the UK
Government have lobbied international partners to maintain those
humanitarian access routes. We have also provided support in a
technical manner to help assess the best way of distributing aid
so that it gets to the people most in need. We will continue to
provide not just financial support, but technical support to help
the people of Yemen, while also working to bring about a
conclusion to this conflict.
(Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale and Tweeddale) (Con)
[V]
It is essential that our aid is effective in Yemen, so can I ask
the Minister what recent discussions he has had with his
international counterparts and the UN regarding the recent panel
of experts report on Yemen, and whether he will agree to meet me
and representatives of humanitarian organisations, local NGOs and
the Yemeni private sector? Their vital role in providing
essential food and commodities to Yemenis and supplying the
humanitarian operation has been undermined by the serious
shortcomings and factual inaccuracies contained within the
panel’s report.
I thank my right hon. Friend for the point he has made today and
also for the correspondence we have exchanged on this very
important issue. We are well aware of the allegations made in the
panel of experts’ most recent report, and they are significant
and concerning. We share the panel’s vision for the Government of
Yemen and the Yemen central bank to become more accountable. I am
more than happy to ensure that he, I and people more
knowledgeable about these issues are able to speak in the near
future.
(Coventry South) (Lab) [V]
The Minister began his remarks by saying that improving the
situation for Yemenis was
“a priority for this Government.”
How he can say that with a straight face I do not know. Not only
has he announced a 50% cut in aid to Yemen, but since the
Saudi-led war in Yemen began, his Government have licensed £6.7
billion-worth of arms sales to the Saudis. That is British-made
bombs dropped from British-made jets flown by British-trained
pilots. Instead of warm words and crocodile tears, will the
Minister take the necessary action for peace and end arms sales
to Saudi Arabia?
The hon. Lady raises this issue on the day after Houthi missiles
were sent into civilian areas of Saudi. The Kingdom of Saudi
Arabia seeks to defend itself against such aggression, as every
country in the world has the right to do. Our arms export regime
is robust, and the best thing that we can do, as I say, to help
the people of Yemen is to encourage all the parties, both those
in Yemen and regional partners, to bring this conflict to an end.
