Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of emulating the US administration’s change in policy on relations with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

US-Saudi relations are a matter for the US administration. The UK and Saudi Arabia have a longstanding bilateral relationship. We have vital national security and prosperity interests in maintaining and developing our relationship with Saudi Arabia, including in how we work together to tackle regional threats. We regularly raise concerns with the Saudi authorities through diplomatic channels, including Ministers, our Ambassador, and the British Embassy in Riyadh. No aspect of our relationship with Saudi Arabia prevents us from speaking frankly about human rights.