Today, in the chamber, leader of the Liberal Democrats, Vince Cable, asked an Urgent Question:

“There is quite rightly wide ranging concern that a dictatorial head of a medieval theocratic regime is being given the red carpet equivalent of a state visit.

“The government should use this opportunity to demand an end to the bombing of civilian targets in the Yemen civil war, and insist on the complete lifting of the blockade on Yemeni ports to alleviate the terrible famine which humanitarian agencies regards as currently the worst in the world.

“It is unacceptable that the safeguards on the use of British weapons, introduced by myself and my Liberal Democrat colleagues during the coalition government, are seemingly no longer being applied.

“And, with International Women’s Day tomorrow, the Conservative government dangerously seems to be tacitly endorsing Prince Mohammed’s warped view of modernisation, where women are allowed to attend football matches but not to marry, divorce, travel, get a driving licence or have an operation without the approval of their male relatives.”