To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to the Government's policy papers entitled (a) Summary of the UK Government Legal Position: The legality of UK military action to target Houthi facilities in Yemen on 12 January 2024, published on 12 January 2024 and (b) Summary of the UK Government Legal Position: The legality of UK military action to target Houthi facilities in Yemen on 22 January 2024, published on 23 January 2024, if the Government will publish the full legal advice on the military action of (i) 11 and (ii) 22 January 2024.
Answered on
30 January 2024
The Government published a summary of its legal position on the legality of UK military action to target Houthi facilities in Yemen on 12 January 2024. It published a further summary on 23 January 2024 following further military action, which confirmed that the legal basis for the further military action remains the same. These are available on the gov.uk website and I have placed a copy in the Libraries of the House.
We acted fully in line with international law, in self-defence and in response to a persistent threat. The strikes were limited to carefully selected targets, with maximum care taken to protect civilian lives.