The British government has been accused of "outright distortions" and of misleading parliament on Saudi Arabia's war in Yemen after quietly releasing a series of corrections to its previous statements to MPs that international humanitarian law had not been breached.

The months-long Saudi-led bombing campaign in Yemen has provoked widespread concern over the impact on civilians, and the UK government has been accused of helping enable the airstrikes with billions of pounds of arms sales and logistical support to the kingdom.

In answers to parliamentary questions and in Westminster Hall debates, the Foreign Office on several occasions assured MPs that the Saudi-led coalition airstrikes had not breached international humanitarian law (IHL).

But on Thursday, the government issued significant corrections to a number of its previous statements. The release of the corrections on the final day of the parliamentary term before summer recess has drawn accusations that the Foreign Office was seeking to avoid proper scrutiny.

One previous answer to a parliamentary question read: “we have assessed that there has not been a breach of IHL by the coalition”. But the latest release admits that it "should have stated, as in previous [parliamentary questions]... 'we have not assessed that there has been a breach of IHL by the coalition'".

A similar correction was made to a line that initially read: "Our judgement is that there is no evidence that IHL has been breached". It becomes: "...we have been unable to assess that there has been a breach of IHL".

Campaigners suggested the changes might signify a shift in UK policy on Saudi Arabia's bombing campaign in Yemen. However, a Foreign Office source told BuzzFeed News that the corrections had simply been made in order to ensure the parliamentary record was consistent.