British arms sold to Saudi Arabia and then used in Yemen were ruled unlawful today - but the UK can still continue its £4.7billion trade in weapons and aircraft with the Gulf state.
Campaigners have won a landmark legal challenge at the Court of Appeal in London after convincing judges the UK-made weapons contributed to civilian casualties as jets from the Saudi-led coalition bombed their neighbour.
Britain has sold £4.7billion of arms to Saudi Arabia since the civil war started March 2015 including planes, drones and missiles.
But three of the UK's most senior judges have said today there is a 'clear risk' their use could breach international law on humanitarian grounds.
The UN has claimed that in the past two years up to 13,600 people were killed in Yemen, including 5,000-plus civilians with 50,000 more dying because of the country's famine.
The Court of Appeal ruling published this morning says that 'the process of decision-making by the government was wrong in law in one significant respect'.
But the judges say that the arms sales to Saudi Arabia don't have to stop immediately - but the Government estimate any future risks in light of their conclusions about the past.
International Trade Secretary Liam Fox will make a statement on the matter to the Commons this afternoon but a spokesman for his department said: 'This judgement is not about whether the decisions themselves were right or wrong, but whether the process in reaching those decisions was correct.
He added: 'We disagree with the judgment and will be seeking permission to appeal.'
British arms sales to Saudi Arabia used in the Yemen were ruled unlawful today - but the UK can still continue its £4.7billion trade in weapons and aircraft with the Gulf state (a Saudi-led strike pictured in May)
Announcing the court's decision, Master of the Rolls Sir Terence Etherton said that 'the process of decision-making by the government was wrong in law in one significant respect'.
Khashoggi (pictured) was killed inside Saudi Arabia's Istanbul consulate last year. Riyadh eventually admitted he had been murdered but denied the prince knew of the operation
Murdered journalist Jamal Khashoggi was drugged with a sedative and suffocated with a plastic bag, according to a new UN report.
An audio recording of Khashoggi's final moments apparently reveals how his killers discussed cutting his body into pieces, before accosting the dissident writer who died amid 'sounds of a struggle' at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.
In addition, the UN investigation has found there is 'credible evidence' that Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince, Mohammed bin Salman, is liable for the killing on October 2 last year.
Agnes Callamard, a UN special rapporteur - who has heard the tape - has called for a probe into whether the 'threshold of criminal responsibility has been met'.
In a 99-page report she said experts found it 'inconceivable' that a sophisticated 15-man mission to kill Khashoggi could have happened without Prince Mohammed's knowledge.
The prince could be held responsible under international law even if there was no 'smoking gun' linking him to the crime, she said.
Calling for sanctions on the prince's 'personal assets', she said other high-level Saudi officials should also face a
