London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Monday, Sep 29, 2025

Britain ‘broke own rules’ by failing to inspect factories making bombs for Saudi Arabia’s war in Yemen

Britain ‘broke own rules’ by failing to inspect factories making bombs for Saudi Arabia’s war in Yemen

The UK government has breached its own guidelines requiring it to conduct regular inspections of controversial weapons factories making bombs used by Saudi Arabia in its aerial campaign in Yemen, a new report says.
The purpose of regular inspections is to check whether weapons producers fulfill the conditions of their export licenses. However, inspectors last visited US arms giant Raytheon’s missile factories in Glenrothes, east-central Scotland, in November 2016, and in Harlow, Essex, in November 2015.

This means Britain has breached its own guidelines requiring the inspections to be conducted “every three years” at a minimum, investigative websites Declassified UK and The Ferret reported.

The plant in Glenrothes makes parts for Paveway IV laser-guided bombs, supplied to Saudi Arabia, which has been conducting a devastating bombing campaign in Yemen for more than five years. Human Rights Watch has repeatedly warned that British-produced munitions, including Paveway bombs, are being used by Riyadh to strike civilian targets.

It is unclear exactly how many inspections have been missed, but trade minister Ranil Jayawardena told members of parliament earlier this month that a detailed report on the issue would come “at a disproportionate cost,” because the government would have to manually review all of its records. Jayawardena also previously argued that revealing the results of such inspections is “commercially sensitive.”

When asked about eight of Britain’s weapons factories, all linked to the Saudi bombing of Yemen, the minister admitted that half of them had not been inspected for more than three years. This is despite the government’s past claims that it has “the most robust” export control process in the world.

Last month, another Declassified UK report showed that the authorities missed the deadline to check a plant run by British arms company BAE Systems in Warton, Lancashire, which makes Typhoon jet fighters, also sold to Riyadh and used in Yemen air raids.

The revelations sparked criticism in Scotland. Scottish National Party MP Douglas Chapman said the situation highlights “the reckless, irresponsible attitude” of the government towards the conflict in Yemen. Scottish Green Party foreign affairs spokesperson Ross Greer blasted London for creating “a smokescreen for protecting the profits of multibillion-pound international arms firms.”

Human rights groups have long demanded that London stop selling weapons to Saudi Arabia, as UN experts and other watchdogs say Saudi airstrikes cause massive civilian casualties on the ground. Last year, Britain suspended new arms deals with Riyadh after a court in London ruled that the government had failed to guarantee that UK-made weapons are not being used against civilians in Yemen.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
U.S. Defense Chief Orders Sudden Summit of Hundreds of Generals and Admirals
Global Cruise Industry Posts Dramatic Comeback with 34.6 Million Passengers in 2024
Trump Claims FBI Planted 274 Agents at Capitol Riot, Citing Unverified Reports
India: Internet Suspended in Bareilly Amid Communal Clashes Between Muslims and Hindus
Supreme Court Extends Freeze on Nearly $5 Billion in U.S. Foreign Aid at Trump’s Request
Archaeologists Recover Statues and Temples from 2,000-Year-Old Sunken City off Alexandria
China Deploys 2,000 Workers to Spain to Build Major EV Battery Factory, Raising European Dependence
Speed Takes Over: How Drive-Through Coffee Chains Are Rewriting U.S. Coffee Culture
U.S. Demands Brussels Scrutinize Digital Rules to Prevent Bias Against American Tech
Ringo Starr Champions Enduring Beatles Legacy While Debuting Las Vegas Art Show
Private Equity’s Fundraising Surge Triggers Concern of European Market Shake-Out
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
FBI Removes Agents Who Kneeled at 2020 Protest, Citing Breach of Professional Conduct
Trump Alleges ‘Triple Sabotage’ at United Nations After Escalator and Teleprompter Failures
Shock in France: 5 Years in Prison for Former President Nicolas Sarkozy
Tokyo’s Jimbōchō Named World’s Coolest Neighbourhood for 2025
European Officials Fear Trump May Shift Blame for Ukraine War onto EU
BNP Paribas Abandons Ban on 'Controversial Weapons' Financing Amid Europe’s Defence Push
Typhoon Ragasa Leaves Trail of Destruction Across East Asia Before Making Landfall in China
The Personality Rights Challenge in India’s AI Era
Big Banks Rebuild in Hong Kong as Deal Volume Surges
Italy Considers Freezing Retirement Age at 67 to Avert Scheduled Hike
Italian City to Impose Tax on Visiting Dogs Starting in 2026
Arnault Denounces Proposed Wealth Tax as Threat to French Economy
Study Finds No Safe Level of Alcohol for Dementia Risk
Denmark Investigates Drone Incursion, Does Not Rule Out Russian Involvement
Lilly CEO Warns UK Is ‘Worst Country in Europe’ for Drug Prices, Pulls Back Investment
Nigel Farage Emerges as Central Force in British Politics with Reform UK Surge
Disney Reinstates ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’ after Six-Day Suspension over Charlie Kirk Comments
U.S. Prosecutors Move to Break Up Google’s Advertising Monopoly
Nvidia Pledges Up to $100 Billion Investment in OpenAI to Power Massive AI Data Center Build-Out
U.S. Signals ‘Large and Forceful’ Support for Argentina Amid Market Turmoil
Nvidia and Abu Dhabi’s TII Launch First AI-&-Robotics Lab in the Middle East
Vietnam Faces Up to $25 Billion Export Loss as U.S. Tariffs Bite
Europe Signals Stronger Support for Taiwan at Major Taipei Defence Show
Indonesia Court Upholds Military Law Amid Concerns Over Expanded Civilian Role
Larry Ellison, Michael Dell and Rupert Murdoch Join Trump-Backed Bid to Take Over TikTok
Trump and Musk Reunite Publicly for First Time Since Fallout at Kirk Memorial
Vietnam Closes 86 Million Untouched Bank Accounts Over Biometric ID Rules
Explosive Email Shows Sarah Ferguson Begged Forgiveness from Jeffrey Epstein After Taking His Money
Corrupt UK Politician Ed Davey Demands Elon Musk’s Arrest for Supporting Democracy
UK, Canada, and Australia Officially Recognise Palestine in Historic Shift
Alibaba Debuts Open-Source Deep Research Agent with Benchmarks Rivaling OpenAI
Marcos Faces Legacy-Defining Crisis as Flood Projects Scandal Sparks Massive Tide of Protests
China’s Micro-Drama Boom Turns Stalled Real Estate Projects into Lavish Film Sets
New Eye Drops Show Promise in Replacing Reading Glasses for Presbyopia
'Company Got 5,189 H-1B Visas, Then Laid Off 16,000 Americans': US Defends New $100,000 H-1B Visa Fee
Golf legend tells Omar she should be 'sent back to Somalia' after her Kirk comments
EU Set to Bar Big Tech from New Financial Data Access Scheme
China Bans Livestreaming and AI in Religion Amid Crackdown on Shaolin Temple Scandal
×