Patrick Grady – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Patrick Grady on 2015-10-14.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what reports he has received of weapons (a) manufactured in the UK or (b) sold by companies based in the UK being used by the government of Saudi Arabia in the military conflict in Yemen.

Mr Tobias Ellwood

Munitions are supplied to the Saudi Air Force under pre-existing contractual arrangements. UK companies are providing precision guided Paveway weapons. The Royal Saudi Air Force is flying British built aircraft in the campaign over Yemen, but this does not represent a direct UK involvement in operations. The UK operates one of the most rigorous and transparent export control regimes in the world. All exports of military and dual-use goods are assessed on a case-by-case basis against the Consolidated EU and National Arms Export Licensing Criteria. We are satisfied that extant licences for Saudi Arabia are compliant with the Consolidated Criteria.