THE UK Government is "urgently investigating" claims that Saudi Arabia-led forces in Yemen have used a UK-made cluster bomb, Philip Hammond, the Foreign Secretary, has told MPs.
The use of such weapons is banned under international law but Amnesty International said it found evidence for the first time on its most recent visit to the country of a UK-made cluster bomb having been used by coalition forces.
READ MORE: SNP accused of hypocrisy over arms manufacturer linked to war in Yemen
Ministers have said the Government does not possess "any evidence" that such weapons have been deployed with Saudi Arabia having denied using cluster bombs.
Ministers also suggested that the bomb found by Amnesty International could be from a previous conflict in the region.
However, "fresh assurances" are now being sought by the Ministry of Defence from Saudi Arabia that such weapons are not being used.
Speaking during Foreign Office questions in the Commons, Mr Hammond said: "The UK has long since given up the use of cluster munitions. They are, their use or their supply, is illegal under British law and the weapons that are being described here are decades old.
"But the MoD is urgently investigating the allegations that have been made."
The Secretary of State added: "We need to be careful, there is no evidence yet that Saudi Arabia has used cluster munitions."
Amnesty International said it found a partially unexploded BL-755 cluster bomb in the north of the country. The bomb was made by Hunting Engineering Ltd in the 1970s.
Cluster bombs are designed to release dozens of smaller bombs over a wide area but the smaller munitions do not always explode, posing a major future risk to civilians.
READ MORE: SNP accused of hypocrisy over arms manufacturer linked to war in Yemen
The organisation's findings were raised as an urgent question in the Commons by the SNP’s Tasmina Ahmed-Sheikh, who demanded the UK suspend arms sales to Saudi Arabia.
The MP for Ochil and South Perthshire said Amnesty International's discovery was "clear evidence that, as long suspected, members of the Saudi Arabian-led coalition have used British cluster munitions in their highly controversial attacks in the Yemen".
She added: "Will the UK Government now finally suspend arms sales to Saudi Arabia and properly investigate the issues raised by Amnesty International?"
The SNP MP also called on the Foreign Secretary to apologise for the Government's "continued inaction" on the issue.
Philip Dunne, the defence minister, said the UK had last provided cluster bombs to Saudi Arabia in 1989.
READ MORE: SNP accused of hypocrisy over arms manufacturer linked to war in Yemen
"Based on all of the information available to us, including sensitive coalition operational reporting, we assess that no UK-supplied cluster weapons have been used or UK-supplied aircraft have been involved in the use of UK cluster weapons in the current conflict in Yemen,” he added.
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