BICOM

Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt has told the Saudi ambassador that he wants “urgent answers” over missing journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

Turkish officials said they would search Saudi Arabia’s consulate in Istanbul, where Khashoggi was last seen. On Sunday, Yasin Aktay, an adviser to Turkish President Tayyip Recep Erdoğan, told Reuters that Turkey believes Khashoggi was murdered in the Saudi consulate, adding that 15 Saudis were allegedly involved in Khashoggi’s disappearance. Saudi officials have denied the allegations.

Hunt said that if reports of Khashoggi’s death were true, the British Government would treat the situation “seriously,” adding that “friendships depend on shared values”. In March the UK and Saudi Arabia launched the “UK-Saudi Strategic Partnership Council,” a new initiative to support Saudi Arabia’s economic reforms and boost bilateral cooperation in defence, security, education and culture. The Prime Minister’s official spokesman said at the time that the initiative would “usher in a new era of bilateral relations, focused on a partnership that delivers wide-ranging benefits for both of us”.

The Foreign Secretary met with the Saudi Ambassador Prince Mohammed bin Nawaf Al Saud, he tweeted afterwards: “Violence against journalists worldwide is going up and is a grave threat to freedom of expression.” The Saudi ambassador also met the permanent secretary to the Foreign Office, Sir Simon McDonald.

The Washington Post reported yesterday that “a squad of men” from Riyadh arrived in Istanbul on the morning of Khashoggi’s disappearance, checked into hotels and drove to the Consulate. “By the end of the day, a 15-member Saudi team had conducted its business and left the country, departing on planes bound for Cairo and Dubai,” according to flight records and sources familiar with the investigation.

Khashoggi left Saudi Arabia last year saying he feared retribution for his criticism of Saudi policy over the Yemen war, its policies towards Qatar and Canada and its crackdown on dissent. He was a regular columnist for the Washington Post.