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The UK government has licensed around £4.1 billion ($5.3bn) of weapons to the Middle East since the election in May 2015.

Government figures showed that two-thirds of total sales were made to the region, in data compiled by the Campaign Against Arms Trade (CAAT).

"These arms sales do not make any of us any safer," said Andrew Smith, a spokesperson for CAAT.

"They fuel war and conflict by providing political and military support for some of the most brutal and oppressive regimes in the world."

While Israel, Qatar, Turkey and the UAE all bought millions of pounds-worth of British-made weapons, their purchases were eclipsed by Saudi Arabia's huge spending spree.

Riyadh was the number-one buyer for the time specified, having bought billions of pounds-worth of weapons, likely for use in its ongoing war in Yemen.

More than 10,000 people have died in the conflict, with hundreds of thousands more having fled their homes.

Campaigners and the government are awaiting the verdict of a Judicial Review into the legality of UK arms sales to Saudi Arabia.

According to an email presented to the High Court from February 2016, the head of the government's Export Control Organisation (ECO), Edward Bell, advised officials against proceeding with the exports.

"To be honest - and I was very directly and honest with the Secretary of State - my gut tells me we should suspend [the deal]," the email read.