MPs have been criticised after only a handful turned up for a debate on the growing humanitarian crisis in Yemen.

The emergency debate was called by Tory MP Andrew Mitchell, the former International Development Secretary, who used it to raise concerns about the “almighty catastrophe of biblical proportions” that he said was unfolding in the country.

However, he was joined in the House of Commons by only around 30 of Parliament’s 650 MPs.

Social media users voiced criticism when a picture of the near-empty chamber was posted online.

“Absolutely sickening” wrote one.

“It shows that it’s not a priority”, said another.

During the debate, Mr Mitchell told MPs: “There is rapidly rising concern in Britain about what is happening in Yemen and the part that Britain is playing in this crisis. There is deep concern that an almighty catastrophe of biblical proportions is unfolding in Yemen before our eyes, and a considerable fear that Britain is dangerously complicit in it.”

He said Saudi authorities were preventing aid shipments of food and medicine from entering Yemen.

“At least seven whole cities have run out of clean water and sanitation and aid agencies are unable to get food to starving families”, he said. “The destruction of clean water and sanitation facilities is directly responsible for the outbreak earlier this year of cholera affecting nearly one million people.

“Yemen is a country ravaged by medieval diseases and on the precipice of famine. With rapidly dwindling food and fuel stocks and the dire humanitarian situation pushing at least seven million people into famine, it is now vital that there is unimpeded access for both humanitarian and commercial cargo.”

The situation in Yemen Show all 14 1 /14 The situation in Yemen The situation in Yemen Houthi supporters trample on a US flag during a gathering mobilizing more fighters into several Yemeni battlefronts, in Sana'a, Yemen EPA The situation in Yemen People carry the coffins of men, who were killed in the recent Saudi-led airstrikes during their funeral, in the Old City of Sanaa, Yemen AP The situation in Yemen Pro-government fighters give food to Yemeni children on the road leading to the southwestern port city of Mokha. Yemeni rebels are putting up fierce resistance in a key Red Sea port city where they are encircled by pro-government force Getty Images The situation in Yemen A Yemeni stands in front of a graffiti protesting US military operations in war-affected Yemen, in Sana'a, Yemen. According to reports, US Special Forces troops allegedly disembarked from US helicopters in the Yemeni town of Yakla and attacked several houses belonging to members of the terrorist group Al-Qaeda, killing three high-ranking Al-Qaeda members and nine civilians, six women and three children. One American serviceman has been killed and three injured in the attack EPA The situation in Yemen US Special Forces troops allegedly disembarked from US helicopters in the Yemeni town of Yakla and attacked several houses belonging to members of the terrorist group Al-Qaeda, killing three high-ranking Al-Qaeda members and nine civilians, six women and three children. One American serviceman has been killed and three injured in the attack EPA The situation in Yemen A Yemeni female fighter supporting the Shiite Huthi rebels, and carrying weapons used for ceremonial purposes, takes part in an anti-Saudi rally in the capital Sanaa Getty Images The situation in Yemen Yemeni female fighters supporting the Shiite Huthi rebels, and carrying weapons used for ceremonial purposes, take part in an anti-Saudi rally in the capital Sanaa Getty Images The situation in Yemen A boy shouts slogans next to pro-Houthi fighters, who have been injured during recent fighting, during a rally held to honour those injured or maimed while fighting in Houthi ranks in Sanaa, Yemen Reuters The situation in Yemen Balls of fire and smoke rise from a Houthi-held military camp following alleged Saudi-led airstrikes, in Sana'a, Yemen EPA The situation in Yemen Yemenis search under the rubble of damaged houses following reported Saudi-led coalition air strikes on the outskirts of the Yemeni capital Sanaa Getty Images The situation in Yemen A Yemeni boy looks on as Yemenis search under the rubble of damaged houses following reported Saudi-led coalition air strikes on the outskirts of the Yemeni capital Sanaa Getty The situation in Yemen A Yemeni boy sits amidst the rubble of damaged houses following reported Saudi-led coalition air strikes on the outskirts of the Yemeni capital Sanaa AFP/Getty The situation in Yemen Marine One with US President Donald Trump flies with a decoy and support helicopters to Dover Air Force Base in Dover, Delaware, for the dignified transfer of Navy Seal Chief Petty Officer William 'Ryan' Owens who was killed in Yemen Getty Images The situation in Yemen US President Donald Trump aboard the Marine One to greet the remains of a US military commando killed during a raid on the al Qaeda militant group in southern Yemen on Sunday, at Dover Air Force Base, Delaware, US Reuters

Almost 9,000 people have been killed in Yemen and 49,000 injured since March 2015. Twenty-one million people - three quarters of the population - are in need of humanitarian assistance.

Mr Mitchell told The Independent he understood that many MPs had constituency commitments on the day of the debate, and that a number had written to him to apologise for not being able to attend.

The fact that the Speaker, John Bercow, took the unusual step of granting an emergency debate on the issue “underlines the seriousness of the situation”, he said.

The former International Development Secretary said MPs of all parties were “very, very worried indeed” about what he called “the greatest looming catastrophe in the world” in Yemen.

Among those present during the debate were Emily Thornberry, the Shadow Foreign Secretary, and her predecessor, Hillary Benn.

Ms Thornberry noted the poor attendance in her speech, saying: “It is regrettable in many ways that the House is not packed today. On too many occasions the war in Yemen has been described as a forgotten war, and indeed it is.”

Describing the situation in Yemen as “the world’s biggest humanitarian crisis”, Ms Thornberry said the UK was partly to blame for the disaster and called on the Government to clamp down on arms sales to Saudi Arabia, which is bombing Yemen.

Responding, Foreign Office minister Alistair Burt said UK officials are in Saudi Arabia monitoring air strikes to ensure that UK-made weapons are used appropriately.

He said: “We have a rigorous legal and parliamentary process, and ensuring that international humanitarian law is not breached is clearly a vital part of that. The information supplied by those liaison officers is crucial to ensuring that our international obligations are observed. That is why they are there.”

Last week, Saudi Arabia ended a blockade on areas controlled by Houthi rebels and allowed some aid to resume. Riyadh leads an Arab coalition in the civil war, fighting on behalf of Yemen’s exiled government.