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The UK has licensed £6.3 billion worth of arms to Saudi-led forces in Yemen since the bloody war started in 2015, new figures have revealed.

And the Saudi government has been invited to a huge arms fair in London next month, despite a court ruling arms sales for use in the conflict to be unlawful.

Sales to Saudi Arabia alone amounted to £5.3 billion - an increase of £600m since the beginning of the 2019.

And more weapons have been sold to other forces currently engaged in the war, including the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Bahrain and Kuwait.

The Government stopped approving new arms licenses to Saudi Arabia and its coalition partners in June after the Court of Appeal ruled they were unlawful.

But ministers have now submitted a Notice of Appeal to the Supreme Court in a bid to have the ruling overturned.

And the UK government has invited the Saudi military and other coalition members to London next month for the Defence and Security Equipment International (DSEI) arms fair.

Andrew Smith of Campaign Against the Arms Trade said: “It is disgraceful that the Government has invited the Saudi military and other Coalition members to London to buy even more weapons.

“This only goes to show that no matter how dire the humanitarian crisis in Yemen has become, the Government will continue to prioritise arms sales over the rights and lives of Yemeni people."

Arms sales to Saudi-led forces All export licences issued are published by the UK government. The licences give an upper limit to the value of goods the holder can export to a named country. And the actual value of goods may be much higher in reality, because some exporters hold an ‘open licence’. These licences allow the holder to export an unlimited quantity of goods - so there is no way of knowing how much has been exported. Some 246 unlimited-value licences have been approved by the government for goods including assault rifles, body armour, mortars, helmets and targeting equipment. Export licences approved by the UK government to the Saudi-led coalition include £3 billion worth of aircraft, helicopters and drones

£2.5 billion worth of grenades, bombs, missiles and countermeasures

£176m of armoured vehicles and tanks

£77m of small arms

Millions more of targeting systems, warships, body armour, assault weapons, artillery, ammunition and explosives

Between 2010 and 2018 Saudi Arabia was the largest importer of arms from the UK

The Daily Mirror travelled to Yemen in May to reveal the extent of the suffering caused by this horrific conflict.

The Saudi-led coalition is supporting Yemen’s government forces by bombing Houthi fighters - leaving the country locked in battle and families at constant risk.

Some 24 million people are in need of assistance and protection in Yemen, according to the United Nations - who warned the conflict had led to the worst humanitarian crisis in the world.

And the crisis has led to malnutrition, outbreaks of cholera and other diseases.

Aid agencies say 140,000 children will have been killed since the start of the conflict.

(Image: Getty Images)

Labour ’s Shadow Foreign Secretary Emily Thornberry said: "For years, Labour has been warning that - rather than trying to stop this conflict and end the catastrophic humanitarian crisis it has caused - the Tory government was simply fuelling it by selling billions in arms to the Saudi-led coalition, and these figures just prove it.

“And even worse, as we have consistently said, they were doing it all while turning a deliberate blind eye to the evidence that these weapons were - and still are - being used to inflict serious war crimes in Yemen against the civilian population.

“ Boris Johnson spent two years as Foreign Secretary at the heart of that decision-making process, and he has yet to answer for those decisions, let alone apologise for them."

Mr Smith added: "Thousands of people have been killed in the Saudi-led bombardment of Yemen, but that has done nothing to deter the arms dealers.

“The bombing has created the worst humanitarian crisis in the world, and it wouldn't have been possible without the complicity and support of Downing Street.

“These arms sales are immoral and illegal."

(Image: Getty)

Labour MP Stephen Doughty, a member of the Commons Home Affairs Committee, said: “These shocking figures show the scale of the commercial interests that were placed before civilian lives, despite the repeated warnings of parliamentarians and campaigners.

“The future credibility of Britain’s entirely legitimate defence and security industry depends on us upholding the highest standards of law and ethics. This was not happening over Yemen.

“All sides in the Yemen crisis have committed clear horrific atrocities against civilians. But we were selling billions of arms to one of those sides despite repeated warnings of the risks.

“Britain needs to urgently rethink its unthinking relationship with Saudi Arabia and the UAE over this issue. Allies must also be the sternest critics.”

A Government spokesperson said: “The UK operates one of the most robust export control regimes in the world. Licensing decisions are based on the most up-to-date information and analysis available at the time, including advice from those with diplomatic and military expertise and reports from our overseas network and NGOs.

"We welcome any further information NGOs can provide regarding compliance with international humanitarian law.

“The Government undertakes a stringent process of scrutiny and approval before issuing any formal invitations to foreign governments to attend a major UK defence exhibition like DSEI.”