The murder of Jamal Khashoggi will be met with a careful response, Jeremy Hunt said as fresh details of the journalist’s death emerged.
A Turkish prosecutor said Mr Khashoggi was strangled as soon as he entered the Saudi consulate in Istanbul as part of a premeditated killing.
The Foreign Secretary said the murder was “incredibly shocking” but he also highlighted Saudi Arabia’s importance for the UK arms industry and the risk of any unintended consequences a response may produce in the unstable Middle East.
Mr Hunt told the Commons Foreign Affairs Committee: “The Khashoggi murder is incredibly shocking. I have spoken more openly and more strongly about it than any Western foreign minister that I am aware of.
“I made it very clear that if the press stories were true – and it appears increasingly likely that they are true – then what happened would be completely contrary to our values.”
But he added: “Our response has to be considered, for two reasons. Firstly, we do have a commercial relationship and there are jobs in the UK – in the North West and the South West – that are at stake.”
The second consideration was the risk of “unintended consequences” any response could have in the highly sensitive region, where Saudi Arabia is a key ally.
“There is a very challenging situation in the Middle East, there is a proxy war between Saudi Arabia and Iran in Yemen, this has the potential to escalate into a much bigger and more dangerous conflict,” he warned.
“There is always the risk of Iran obtaining nuclear weapons.
“I just think in that context – and looking at other interventions that we have made in that region in the last 20 years – we just have to be very careful about any action we take that there aren’t unintended consequences.
“That’s why I do think it is important to be considered in this case.”
