Ambassador warns of serious threat to Saudi-UK relations
THE SAUDI ambassador has drawn criticism after warning of a “potentially serious repercussions” of a breakdown in relations with the UK and complained of a lack of “mutual respect”.
Prince Mohammed bin Nawaf bin Abdulaziz singled out the cancellation of a deal to train prison staff in the Gulf state as he railed against an “alarming change in the way Saudi Arabia is discussed in Britain”.
In an unusual public intervention, he wrote an article for the Daily Telegraph in which he warned the wealthy kingdom would not be “lectured to” and urged respect for its strict system of Sharia law.
He said: “One recent example of this mutual respect being breached was when Jeremy Corbyn, Leader of the Opposition, claimed that he had convinced Prime Minister David Cameron to cancel a prison consultancy contract with Saudi Arabia worth £5.9m.”
Mr Corbyn lobbied against the contract at the same time as urging the Government to intervene over a number of Saudi human rights abuses, including the planned execution of a protester, who was just 17 at the time of his alleged offence.
Kate Higham, of human rights organisation Reprieve, said: “The Saudi government’s misconceived view seems to be that not only must Britain keep its mouth shut about their horrific abuses we should also be actively supporting them.”
She said the Saudi authorities “still don’t seem to have got the message”, adding: “They need to realise that until they put a stop to the horrific abuses in the kingdom, no country with any respect for human rights will want to go near their ‘justice’ system.”
The ambassador said the Government had been “shamed into” ditching the deal – which had initially been the only contract to survive Justice Secretary Michael Gove’s axing of a controversial commercial body. Downing Street claimed it had been a financial decision unrelated to cases including the threatened flogging of a 74-year-old ex-pat British grandfather who breached strict alcohol laws.
Karl Andree has served his time in jail but is still locked up as Saudi officials wait to carry out the lashings, according to his family, despite Mr Cameron pledging a personal intervention. “Our justice system is based on Sharia law and implemented by our independent judiciary,” the ambassador wrote.
Saudi Arabia still doesn’t seem to have got the message.
Kate Higham, of human rights organisation Reprieve