Britain is ‘planning Saudi boycott over murdered dissident’
BRITAIN is considering boycotting a major international financial conference over the disappearance of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
Mr Khashoggi, a critic of the Saudi government, disappeared on October 2 after visiting its consulate in Istanbul to get documents for his forthcoming marriage.
Turkey claims he was murdered there by Saudi agents and said it had audio and video of his ‘interrogation, torture and murder’ from his Apple Watch, although experts said this was unlikely.
Western officials are under pressure to boycott next week’s Future Investment Initiative conference – dubbed Davos In The Desert – in Saudi capital Riyadh.
Business barons and media groups, including the Financial Times and Bloomberg, have already pulled out, and Virgin boss Richard Branson has frozen several business links with the Gulf state.
Now International Trade Secretary Liam Fox is considering a boycott, diplomatic sources have told the BBC.
The Department for International Trade said Dr Fox’s diary was not yet finalised for the week of the conference.
The event is being hosted by the kingdom’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to promote his reform agenda.
Yesterday, in a statement with his French and German counterparts, Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt said: ‘There needs to be a credible investigation to establish the truth about what happened, and – if relevant – to identify those bearing responsibility and ensure that they are held to account.’
He said later: ‘What happens from now on is absolutely up to Saudi Arabia. If this terrible
‘Need a credible investigation’
murder didn’t happen then where is Jamal Khashoggi?
‘If they have nothing to hide then they should co-operate.’
Labour said it was time to ‘end Britain’s blind spot’ on Saudi Arabia. Its foreign spokesman, Emily Thornberry, said: ‘We would stop selling arms to Saudi Arabia in current circumstances until they changed their ways.’
Tom Tugendhat, chairman of the Commons Foreign Affairs Committee, said the UK should ‘talk about downgrading diplomatic relations’ and consider boycotting the conference.
Donald Trump has already said the US will inflict ‘severe punishment’ on Saudi Arabia if it was behind Mr Khashoggi’s death. But he has refused to halt military contracts.
Saudi Arabia warned yesterday it would retaliate against sanctions. The tensions led to a huge fall on the Saudi stock exchange, the Tadawul, with its all- shares index of more than 170 stocks down 7 per cent in early trading, or £38billion.
Saudi Arabia denies Turkey’s claim that Mr Khashoggi was killed in the consulate. Turkey said the Gulf state was not cooperating with investigators.