Campaigners have won a landmark legal challenge against the government over its decision to continue to allow UK arms sales to Saudi Arabia.

Campaign Against Arms Trade (CAAT) argued that the decision to continue to license military equipment for export to the Gulf state, which is leading a coalition of forces in the Yemeni conflict, was unlawful.

The group said export licences should not have been granted as there was a clear risk that the arms might be used in a serious violation of international humanitarian law.

Image: Activists march with homemade replica missiles bearing the message 'Made in Britain, ruining lives in Yemen'

Three senior judges at the Court of Appeal in central London ruled on Thursday that "the process of decision-making by the government was wrong in law in one significant respect".

Announcing the court's decision, Master of the Rolls Sir Terence Etherton, sitting with Lord Justice Irwin and Lord Justice Singh, said the government "made no concluded assessments of whether the Saudi-led coalition had committed violations of international humanitarian law in the past, during the Yemen conflict, and made no attempt to do so".


Sir Terrance said the ruling "does not mean that licences to export arms to Saudi Arabia must immediately be suspended".

The government "must reconsider the matter" and estimate any future risks in light of their conclusions about the past, he added.

CAAT called on International Trade Secretary Liam Fox to reconsider the export licences in accordance with the correct legal approach.

Andrew Smith, from CAAT, said: "We welcome this verdict, but it should never have taken a court case brought by campaigners to force the government to follow its own rules.

"The Saudi Arabian regime is one of the most brutal and repressive in the world, yet, for decades, it has been the largest buyer of UK-made arms.

"No matter what atrocities it has inflicted, the Saudi regime has been able to count on the uncritical political and military support of the UK.

"The bombing has created the worst humanitarian crisis in the world. UK arms companies have profited every step of the way. The arms sales must stop immediately."

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Speaking in the Commons after the ruling, Dr Fox confirmed the government "will not grant any new licences for export to Saudi Arabia and its coalition partners" while it considers the implications of the judgment.

A Downing Street spokeswoman has also confirmed that the government is seeking permission to launch an appeal.

Shadow foreign secretary Emily Thornberry demanded a full parliamentary or independent public inquiry into UK arms sales to Saudi Arabia.

"And immediately, the government must suspend all arms sales for use in the conflict in Yemen until there has been a full and independent, UN-led investigation into all breaches of international law," she said.

Image: The war in Yemen has devastated the country

Liberal Democrat foreign affairs spokeswoman Jo Swinson echoed the call, saying "the only acceptable course of action" by ministers "is to suspend them immediately, rather than continuing to allow arm sales to a country which is targeting innocent civilians".

"Well done CAAT," Green MP Caroline LUcas tweeted in response to a @CAATuk tweet. "Government must stop selling arms used to commit atrocities against civilians."

Lucy Claridge, director of strategic litigation at Amnesty International, which intervened in the case, said: "During four years of devastating war, the Saudi Arabia-led coalition has killed thousands of civilians in Yemen, flattening homes, schools and hospitals in indiscriminate airstrikes.

"This is the first time that a UK court has acknowledged the risks of continuing to lavish Saudi Arabia with military equipment for use in Yemen. We welcome this judgment as a major step towards preventing further bloodshed."

Daniel Hannan, president of think tank the Institute for Free Trade, tweeted: "I dislike the Saudi regime, and despise its Western hirelings and apologists. None the less, any decision about what to trade with it should be made by our elected representatives, not by our courts."