Rupa Huq – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rupa Huq on 2016-10-11.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether his Department is investigating allegations that the Saudi-led coalition deployed UK manufactured cluster munitions; and whether UK military personnel or UK aircraft were involved in the deployment of such munitions.

Sir Michael Fallon

We are aware of reports, including from Amnesty International on 6 June 2016, of the alleged use of UK-supplied cluster munitions in the Saudi-led coalition campaign in Yemen. We take this allegation very seriously, have analysed the case carefully and raised the issue with the Saudi-led coalition.

The UK is not a member of the coalition and there are no Royal Air Force aircraft in coalition operations. British military personnel are not involved in carrying out strikes, directing or conducting operations in Yemen or in the targeting process.