More than 300 incidents that could violate international law have been tracked by the Ministry of Defence in Yemen since the conflict began two years ago.

In the past year 66 “incidents of potential concern” have been recorded, according to Alistair Burt, Minister of State for the Foreign and Commonwealth office.

This takes the total number to 318 from the 252 which had been tracked in January 2017.

The UK has licenced arms sales worth more than £4.6bn to Saudi Arabia, which has led a coalition of forces in Yemen against, Iranian backed Houthi rebels.

The United Nations (UN) estimates around 10,000 people have died since the conflict began in March 2015.

Saudi Arabian forces have been accused of targeting civilians in its deadly air strikes – which the regime denies.

Speaking in the House of Commons in an emergency debate, Foreign Office Minister Alistair Burt admitted: “We have been tracking 318 incidents of potential concern since 2015, and this is used to inform the MOD’s advice to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.”

He added that "sensitive information" provided by liaison officers is used by the Permanent Joint Headquarters and MOD officials when providing advice on Saudi-led coalition capability and when conducting analysis of incidents of potential concern which result from air operations in Yemen.

Andrew Smith of Campaign Against the Arms Trade (CAAT), an organisation which has taken the Government to court over its arms deals with Saudi Arabia, told The Independent: “That is 318 incidents too many. These aren’t just numbers on a spreadsheet, they are real attacks with real people being killed.

“The scale of the destruction that has been inflicted upon Yemen is appalling. After almost three years of pain, the situation is only getting worse. The Saudi regime has wagered a terrible bombardment: it has fuelled an awful cholera outbreak, and has created one of the worst humanitarian crises in the world.

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

“History will look back on these atrocities as entirely preventable, and the UK Government’s role as entirely complicit. If human rights and democracy are to mean anything in Downing Street, then May and her colleagues must end the arms sales now.”

Mr Burt, who has responsibility for the Middle East, made his admission during a debate at the end of last month, but he insisted the continued sale of arms to the Saudis was lawful.

“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.”

But the Scottish National Party’s Alison Thewliss told the House: “We lose a huge amount of credibility in this whole discussion, and we cannot be a broker for peace, while we are involved in arming a side in the conflict. We are complicit in what happens.

“The Minister mentioned 318 incidents of concern, and he may wish to clarify that. How many more incidents are acceptable to the Government, given that 318 incidents of concern have been picked up by the people involved and the armed forces on the ground in Yemen? That is a huge amount of “concern” to have.”

Ms Thewliss welcomed more than £2m of aid the UK Government has given to Yemen since 2015, but pointed out this was “dwarfed” by the £4.6 billion in arms sales.

Under UK law, weapons should not be exported “if there is a clear risk that the items might be used in the commission of a serious violation of international law.

MPs faced criticism after only around 30 out of 650 turned up for the emergency debate on the deepening humanitarian crisis in Yemen which has injured around 50,000 people and left three quarters of a million people at risk of starvation.

The UK Government has been repeatedly forced to defend its arms trade amid mounting evidence of war crimes and civilian deaths in Yemen, with an estimated 1,300 children killed and 2,000 injured.

In spite of this, the Government won the legal challenge mounted by the CAAT in July after the High Court ruled there was no evidence the Saudi-led coalition was deliberately targeting civilians.