Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether officials of his Department in discussions with Saudi officials are critical of the actions and policies of the Saudi Government; and if he will make a statement.

No aspect of our relationship with Saudi Arabia prevents us from speaking frankly and openly and we will always be ready to speak out as a matter of principle. We raise our concerns with the Saudi authorities using a range of Ministerial and diplomatic channels of communication, including our Ambassador, the Embassy team and the European Union in Riyadh