Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Vince Cable Excerpts

Monday 12th March 2018 Ministerial Corrections

The following are extracts from an urgent question to the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs on 7 March 2018.

[Sir Vince Cable]

Will the Foreign Secretary insist on the ending of the blockade of ports in Yemen, which is contributing to the devastating humanitarian crisis and famine, of which we have heard much in this House?

[Alistair Burt]

The right hon. Gentleman referred to a blockade. There is no blockade; there are now no restrictions on the ports—the ports are open. There was a restriction from 19 December, following a missile attack on the capital of Yemen by Houthi forces. There is a strong suspicion that weapons were being smuggled into the country. That is why the restrictions were in place. Since 20 December, a total of 50 ships have docked, and the ports are open. [Official Report, 7 March 2018, Vol. 637, c. 314.]

Letter of correction from Alistair Burt:

An error has been identified in the response I gave to the hon. Member for Twickenham (Sir Vince Cable) in the urgent question on 7 March 2018.

The correct response should have been: