Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Monday 12th March 2018 Ministerial Corrections

UK Relations: Saudi Arabia

The following are extracts from an urgent question to the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs on 7 March 2018.

[Sir Vince Cable]

Will the Foreign Secretary insist on the ending of the blockade of ports in Yemen, which is contributing to the devastating humanitarian crisis and famine, of which we have heard much in this House?

[Alistair Burt]

The right hon. Gentleman referred to a blockade. There is no blockade; there are now no restrictions on the ports—the ports are open. There was a restriction from 19 December, following a missile attack on the capital of Yemen by Houthi forces. There is a strong suspicion that weapons were being smuggled into the country. That is why the restrictions were in place. Since 20 December, a total of 50 ships have docked, and the ports are open. [Official Report, 7 March 2018, Vol. 637, c. 314.]

Letter of correction from Alistair Burt:

An error has been identified in the response I gave to the hon. Member for Twickenham (Sir Vince Cable) in the urgent question on 7 March 2018.

The correct response should have been:

[Alistair Burt]

The right hon. Gentleman referred to a blockade. There is no blockade; the restrictions on the ports have been eased—the ports are open. There was a restriction from 6 November, following a missile attack on the capital of Saudi Arabia by Houthi forces. There is a strong suspicion that weapons were being smuggled into the country. That is why the restrictions were in place. Since 20 December, a total of 50 ships have docked, and the ports are open.

[Mr Paul Sweeney (Glasgow North East) (Lab/Co-op)]

In the last month there has been huge disruption in access for international aid into Yemen’s ports on the Red sea. Given that that is primarily caused by Saudi Arabian blockades, will the Minister ensure that it is brought up with the Crown Prince as a matter of urgency, and that it is a serious objective of the UK Government to reopen those ports and allow access for humanitarian aid to the 22 million people in need of urgent assistance?

[Alistair Burt]

I can give the hon. Gentleman the assurance that I gave the House a moment ago. The restrictions were imposed because of the Saudis’ quite legitimate concerns that weapons, or weapons parts, that are directed against them are smuggled into Yemen. We wanted to give the assurance that we would do all we could to try to prevent that, and that in the process the restrictions on ships coming in could be eased. We have seen an easing of those restrictions. The ports are now open. Fifty ships have docked since the restrictions were imposed in December, and we shall do all we can. [Official Report, 7 March 2018, Vol. 637, c. 323.]

Letter of correction from Alistair Burt:

An error has been identified in the response I gave to the hon. Member for Glasgow North East (Mr Sweeney) in the urgent question on 7 March 2018.

The correct response should have been:

[Alistair Burt]

I can give the hon. Gentleman the assurance that I gave the House a moment ago. The restrictions were imposed because of the Saudis’ quite legitimate concerns that weapons, or weapons parts, that are directed against them are smuggled into Yemen. We wanted to give the assurance that we would do all we could to try to prevent that, and that in the process the restrictions on ships coming in could be eased. We have seen an easing of those restrictions. The ports are now open. Fifty ships have docked since the restrictions were eased in December, and we shall do all we can.