Yemeni knot

Boris Johnson urged to back inquiry into alleged Saudi war crimes

The foreign secretary, Boris Johnson, is facing calls to reverse UK policy and back an independent international investigation into alleged Saudi breaches of international humanitarian law in Yemen.

The call from the international development select committee came as new figures showed the UK granted arms export licences for use in Saudi Arabiavalued at £530m in the first quarter of this year. The figures were compiled from official government figures by the Campaign Against the Arms Trade.

The pressure for Johnson to change Foreign Office policy and unequivocally back an international inquiry came after his department released a string of corrections to previous oral and written statements made by ministers that had assured MPs the government had assessed whether there were breaches of international humanitarian law (IHL) in Yemen by Saudi Arabia, and concluded no breach had taken place.