Local Editor
UK ministers will face intense pressure this week to explain continued support for the Saudi-led war in Yemen in the wake of the revelations about the premeditated murder of the Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi by allies of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
The Middle East minister, Alistair Burt, and the foreign secretary, Jeremy Hunt, will be separately cross-examined about Britain’s relations with Saudi Arabia in the House of Commons, amid reports in British newspapers that UK intelligence may have known in advance that the Saudis were preparing to kill or capture Khashoggi.
The Foreign Office, in common with the French president, Emmanuel Macron, says there is no link between the Khashoggi murder and the conduct of the war in Yemen, yet in reality ministers privately admit tolerance of the crown prince’s aggressive strategy is wearing thin. Macron on Saturday called for a united European response to Khashoggi’s killing, but is in dispute with Germany whether the sanctions should be directed against individuals or the Saudi regime.
Burt – who met Yemeni officials at the weekend in Bahrain – faces the international development select committee on Tuesday, and Hunt for the first time will be quizzed by the foreign affairs select committee on Wednesday. There are signs that senior Conservatives MPs have lost patience with Saudi Arabia.
Source: The Guardian, Edited by Website Team
