Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the effect on the UK's international reputation in relation to (a) the rule of law and (b) the integrity of the UK's arms control regime of the recent failure to abide by UK court rulings in relation to arms sales licences for Saudi Arabia.

As the Secretary of State for International Trade said during her statement to the House last week, the Government unreservedly apologises for the export licences that were issued in error and has commissioned a full independent investigation.This investigation will be led by an independent senior official – the Director General of Policy Group in the Department for Work and Pensions. We take our arms export control responsibilities very seriously and remain fully committed to complying with the undertaking provided to the Court of Appeal.