Raab sanctions Saudis over Khashoggi killing

The UK has sanctioned three Saudi officials implicated in the murder of the journalist Jamal Khashoggi. They will receive travel bans and have their assets frozen, as Dominic Raab, the Foreign Secretary, warned that Britain would seize the “blood-drenched, ill-gotten gains” of those who abuse human rights. Britain has sanctioned 20 Saudis involved in the 2018 murder, as well as 25 Russian nationals linked to the mistreatment of the tax adviser Sergei Magnitsky.

Yesterday in the Commons something very rare happened. So rare, in fact, as to be a little unsettling. One after another, MPS from Opposition parties stood up to praise a Tory Government minister.

This was unusual enough in itself, but what made it more unusual still was that the minister in question was Dominic Raab. This certainly didn’t happen to him when he was Brexit Secretary.

These days, of course, Mr Raab is in charge at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, and yesterday he made a statement on Britain’s new sanctions regime. “If you’re a kleptocrat or an organised criminal, you will not be able to launder your blood money in this country,” promised the Foreign Secretary.

“Those with blood on their hands, the thugs of despots, the henchmen of dictators, will not be free to waltz into this country, to buy up property on the King’s Road, to do their Christmas shopping in Knightsbridge, or to siphon dirty money through British banks…”

The first sets of sanctions, he revealed, would apply to those responsible for the following atrocities: the murder of Sergei Magnitsky, the Russian lawyer; the murder of Jamal Khashoggi, the Saudi journalist; the persecution of the Rohingyas in Myanmar (formerly Burma); and the enslavement, torture and murder of prisoners in North Korean gulags.

Across the Commons, approval was just about unanimous. Speaking for Labour, Lisa Nandy said she “strongly welcomed” Mr Raab’s statement. For the Lib Dems, Alistair Carmichael said it would “be seen in years to come as a watershed moment in the development of human rights law”.

For the SNP, Alyn Smith said Mr Raab was “entitled to a quiet moment of personal satisfaction”. For the DUP, Jim Shannon said Mr Raab was “quite clearly a Secretary of State who gets things done”.

Of course, you would expect MPS to agree on an issue of this kind. All the same, Mr Raab must surely have enjoyed himself. The praise was so lavish, and the experience so novel, I worried for a moment that he might let success go to his head, and start announcing yet more sanctions, possibly at random.

“Mr Speaker, I’m delighted to have received the wholehearted backing of the House. In light of this, I can now announce that we will also be imposing sanctions on… let’s see… Easter Island... Antarctica... Atlantis… the Moon…” Thankfully, he resisted.

Not everyone was completely satisfied. A number of Tories wanted to hear what action might be taken against China. Meanwhile, Tan Singh Dhesi (Lab, Slough) demanded to know what had happened to the Intelligence & Security Committee’s “Russia report” – an investigation into allegations of Russian interference in UK politics and the EU referendum.

“The Russia report has been sitting on the Prime Minister’s desk gathering dust since last year,” said Mr Singh Dhesi. “What has he got to hide?”

Publication does seem to be taking a mysteriously long time. Perhaps the Government should threaten itself with sanctions.