Cabinet minister says Saudi explanation for death of journalist ‘not credible’

Cabinet minister says Saudi explanation for death of journalist ‘not credible’

Saudi Arabia’s explanation about the death of a dissident journalist is not credible but the UK is not preparing to terminate it relationship with the state, a Cabinet minister has said.

The Gulf kingdom admitted on Friday that Jamal Khashoggi was killed at its Istanbul consulate but claimed he died after a fight broke out.

Brexit Secretary Dominic Raab said it was a “terrible case” but the UK government was “not throwing our hands in the air” because thousands of jobs depended on relations with the country.

Jamal Khashoggi
Jamal Khashoggi was last seen entering the Saudi consulate in Istanbul (PA)

Asked if he believed the Saudi government’s explanation, Mr Raab said: “No, I don’t think it’s credible.”

“We are not throwing our hands in the air and terminating the relationship with Saudi Arabia, not just because of the huge number of British jobs that depend on it but also because if you exert influence over your partners you need to be able to talk to them,” he told BBC One’s The Andrew Marr Show.

The government has come under pressure from Labour and the Liberal Democrats to ban  arms sales to the kingdom but Mr Raab insisted the UK’s export regime was “one of the most rigorous” in the world.

“The problem with Labour’s position is it would cost thousands of British jobs. So, what we would rather do is support the investigation, find out what happened.”

Turkish government sources have claimed that Mr Khashoggi, a critic of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and the Saudi government, was tortured and murdered by a hit squad flown in from Riyadh.

Barriers block the road leading to Saudi Arabia’s consulate in Istanbul
Barriers block the road leading to Saudi Arabia’s consulate in Istanbul (Lefteris Pitarakis/AP)

A number of Saudi nationals have since been arrested while deputy intelligence chief Ahmad al-Assiri and Saud al-Qahtani, a senior aide to the Crown Prince, have been dismissed, state TV reported.

Saudi Arabia is the UK’s key ally in the region and also a significant trading partner.

Britain rolled out the red carpet for the Crown Prince in March.

During his state visit he was granted rare access to a briefing on foreign policy issues by national security officials alongside his meetings with the Queen and Mrs May.

Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt is considering the “next steps” in Britain’s response to the case.

Mr Hunt has previously warned there will be “consequences” for the UK’s relationship with Saudi Arabia if it was found the journalist was murdered.

US President Donald Trump suggested sanctions against Saudi were a possibility but said that halting arms deals would “hurt us more than it would hurt them”.

Oliver Sprague, Amnesty International UK’s arms expert, said the UK should have halted arms sales to Saudi Arabia long ago over its military intervention in Yemen.

He added: “On the one hand, ministers defend weapons sales to the Saudi coalition with claims that the coalition properly investigates when airstrikes kill Yemeni civilians.

“Yet, on the other, ministers are quite rightly sceptical over Saudi Arabia’s ability to properly investigate over a high-profile case like Jamal Khashoggi.

“This issue boils down to trust: the Government has time and time again been willing to trust Saudi promises over proper investigations despite overwhelming evidence of its reckless military behaviour in Yemen.”

Opposition cross-party foreign affairs representatives have written to Mr Hunt demanding he condemn the “reckless and barbaric behaviour” of the Saudi government, halt arms sales to, and UK military operations in, the Gulf kingdom and support efforts for an independent inquiry into Mr Khashoggi’s death.

The letter states: “It cannot be business as usual with a regime that displays blatant contempt and disregard for international law and human rights”.

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