Foreign Office admits errors over Saudi Arabia Yemen intervention reports

The Foreign Office has had to correct statements to Parliament which claimed the Government had assessed that Saudi Arabia's intervention in war-torn Yemen had not breached international humanitarian law.

In an embarrassing move, a written ministerial statement admitted assessments regarding the issue were not made, despite three statements to that affect.

The Government insisted it had not tried to mislead MPs, and that the claims were errors.

The admission came on the last day of the Parliamentary session and the Foreign Office insisted that other Parliamentary statements had presented the correct version of events.

Labour's shadow minister without portfolio Jonathan Ashworth condemned the practice of issuing large numbers of ministerial statements when Parliament rises for the long summer recess.

"Despite previously complaining about the dumping of written statements on the day before Parliamentary recess Theresa May seems happy for her Government to do just that.

"In a deluge of statements her ministers have slipped out confirmation that tuition fees will go up, nurse bursaries will be scrapped and the news that correspondence regarding patients' medical records has gone missing," he said.

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