Boris Johnson defends trip to Saudia Arabia, days after human rights abuses
The Prime Minister is there to try and secure more oil for the West, after Russia's invasion of Ukraine
Last updated 16th Mar 2022
The Prime Minister has defended a trip to Saudi Arabia, just days after the country carried out a mass execution of 81 people.
Boris Johnson will discuss securing energy supplies, saying the West needs to end its "addiction" to Russian oil.
But a number of MPs have called on the PM to call off the visit, after the country was condemned over human rights abuses.
PM insists he will "raise issues"
On his arrival in the UAE, Boris Johnson defended trying to forge closer ties with Saudi Arabia.
Asked about working with a regime with such a questionable human rights record, the Prime Minister said: "I've raised all those issues many, many times... since I was foreign secretary and beyond and I'll raise them all again today.
"But we have long, long standing relationships with this part of the world and we need to recognise the very important relationship that we have."
He pointed towards Saudi Arabia announcing a £1 billion investment in green aviation fuel in Teesside.
"That's the kind of thing we want to encourage - doesn't in any way mean we can't stick to our principles and raise those issues that we all care about."
But the PM played down his chances of getting Gulf states to increase their oil production, saying "It's not just a question of looking at the Opec countries and what they can do to increase supply, though that is important, there's also the issue of Emirati investment in UK wind farms, already huge, what more can they do.
"When we look at the dependency the West in particular has built up on Putin's hydrocarbons, on Putin's oil and gas, we can see what a mistake that was because he's been able to blackmail the West and hold western economies to ransom - we need independence."
PM accused of going from "dictator to dictator"
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer accused the Prime Minister of going "cap in hand from dictator to dictator" and said the plan was "not an energy strategy".
Conservative MPs and human rights watchdogs are among those calling on Boris Johnson to question the nations on their track records.
Prince Mohammed bin Salman has largely been shunned by the West after US intelligence alleged he ordered the murder of Mr Khashoggi at the kingdom's consulate in Istanbul, something the Saudi ruler denies.
One person who did embrace him, however, was the Russian president, with the prince and Mr Putin sharing a high-five and a laugh at a G20 summit in the month after Mr Khashoggi's death.
Mr Johnson, who will be deputised at Prime Minister's Questions on Wednesday by Justice Secretary Dominic Raab, has argued he needs to "build the widest possible coalition" to address Mr Putin's attack on Ukraine.
The Prime Minister is expected to discuss the importance of allies increasing the diplomatic and economic pressure on the Kremlin while mitigating the global fallout from the war.