The newspaper “The Independent” that the British government is accused of apologizing to Saudi Arabia after its decision to impose sanctions on officials close to Muhammad bin Salman, for their involvement in the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
A report by John Stone said that the British government secretly praised the Saudi government after it decided to publicly criticize the human rights record and targeted sanctions officials.
The newspaper said the government was accused of apologizing to the Saudi regime after imposing sanctions on a number of Saudis under the Magnitsky Law on Sunday.
The newspaper understood that British Defense Secretary Bin Wallace had secretly contacted the Saudi Deputy Defense Minister on Wednesday and confirmed Britain’s support for Saudi Arabia.
The British government did not publicly announce the call, but it was the Saudi News Agency that referred to it, and said: “His Highness Prince Khalid bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, Deputy Minister of Defense, received a call from His Excellency, British Minister of Defense bin Wallace, in which the partnership between the two countries was discussed, Especially in the field of defense and the efforts made between the two countries to enhance regional and international security.
Saudi reports stated that the British minister “expressed his country’s gratitude to Saudi Arabia and its role in addressing threats to the stability of the region” and “emphasized the desire of his country’s government to strengthen defense relations between the two friendly countries, especially in the field of arms exports to the Kingdom.”
The defense official’s call came at a time when Liz Terrace, the Minister of International Trade, announced the resumption of the granting of licenses to export weapons to Saudi Arabia, after a review carried out following a British court ruling saying that British arms exports were illogical.
Teras described the Saudi-led coalition’s targeting of civilian facilities in Yemen as “isolated incidents” because they occurred in multiple places and at different times.
“The government seems to have taken positions against Saudi individuals in a day, and a day later I apologized personally,” said Leila Moran, the candidate for the leadership of the Liberal Liberals party. She added, “This sends a wrong message to countries and individuals involved in human rights violations around the world.” “The government must decide once and for all what the international concept is that Britain wants: an international advocate for liberal values, or a lawyer for human rights violators.”
On Monday, Foreign Minister Dominic Rap revealed a list of 20 Saudis accused of killing Jamal Khashoggi, along with names from Russia, Myanmar and North Korea.
The Secretary of Defense’s statements over the phone contrast with Rap’s tough tone in Parliament, where he threatened those with blood on their hands that they would have no place in this country, and would not be allowed to buy real estate in his high streets and to launder their money in British banks.
He stressed: “You will not be allowed to set foot in this country and we will confiscate your blood stained money if you try.”
