Saudi Arabia: Mass Execution

Baroness Kramer Excerpts

Monday 14th March 2022 Lords Chamber

[The Earl of Courtown (Con)]

My Lords, I am afraid the noble Lord is inaccurate. If he had had only three-quarters of an hour to prepare for this, he might have the same difficulty with it. It is quite clear that we engage very strongly. I know that noble Lords will think, “Oh, he is repeating the same line again”, but the fact is that we do have very strong relationships with and are a strong ally of Saudi Arabia. The fact that we are in that position means that we can have these full and frank discussions.

[Baroness Kramer (LD)]

My Lords, will the Minister tell us whether his Government are considering sanctions against those who have been involved in the execution of children?

[The Earl of Courtown (Con)]

My Lords, as the noble Baroness knows, we always keep the issues relating to sanctions under review, and I would not want to pre-empt anything that could happen in the future.