“There must be a strong statement from the new foreign secretary, Boris Johnson, about how such convenient “mistakes” were made and what he will do to ensure this never happens again”.
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A spokesperson for the foreign office told MEE that the correction had been filed in order to clarify the government’s position in a transparent and comprehensive manner.
A number of written and oral statements made by ministers claimed that the government had assessed no breaches of humanitarian law carried out by the UK’s autocratic ally. “Your original answers stated that an assessment had been made and a conclusion reached that IHL (International Humanitarian Law) had not been breached”, Mr Benn wrote.
“I would be grateful if you could provide me with an explanation as to why you gave inaccurate answers on such a crucial point on so many occasions and when you first became aware that your replies were inaccurate”.
“A continued failure to undertake such an assessment would be an abdication of responsibility and will serve to further undermine Britain’s standing in the world”.
Another change sees the Foreign Office correcting its line on whether the Ministry of Defence has assessed whether Yemeni civilians are being targeted by the Saudi-led coalition – a claim that has been made by the UN.
Backed by Saudi-led airstrikes, pro-Hadi forces have since managed to reclaim large swathes of the country’s south – including provisional capital Aden – but have failed to retake Sanaa and other strategic areas.
The admission, issued on the final day of parliament before the summer recess, led to calls by the Liberal Democrats for an investigation into Saudi behaviour in Yemen and a suspension of United Kingdom arms sales.
“We make it clear that we are doing our own analysis”.
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“We regularly encourage Saudi Arabia to investigate any allegations of breaches of IHL which are attributed to them; and for their investigations to be thorough and conclusive. Saudi Arabia has publicly stated that it is investigating reports of alleged violations, and that any lessons learned will be acted upon”, it said.
