Sir Keir Starmer has said UK economic growth was his “number one mission” as he defended his trip to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
The prime minister accused predecessor Boris Johnson of “going cap in hand from dictator to dictator” when the former PM met Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in 2022.
But after having a meeting with the crown prince on Monday, Sir Keir said he wanted to drive up living standards across the UK and people to feel better off.
“For that to happen”, he said, “we have to win contracts and investment around the world, and UAE and Saudi Arabia are key partners of ours”.
“So I’ve been making the case that now’s the time for further investment into our country”, he said, adding that recent deals with Saudi Arabia have “yielded” 4,000 jobs to the UK.
Politics latest: PM invites controversial Saudi crown prince to UK
Also, the widow of murdered Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi urged Sir Keir to question the crown prince about the case.
Mr Khashoggi, a columnist for the Washington Post, was killed and dismembered by Saudi agents in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul in an operation which US intelligence believed was ordered by Prince Mohammed.
The crown prince has denied the accusation.
Hanan Elatr Khashoggi said Sir Keir should demand answers about what happened to her husband, telling The Guardian she hoped his case “has not been forgotten”.
Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi pictured in 2014. Pic: AP
Dan Dolan, the group deputy executive director of campaign group Reprieve, called on Sir Keir to raise the issue of Abdullah al Howaiti and Abdullah al Derazi, children facing the death penalty in Saudi Arabia, saying “he could save their lives”.
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A Downing Street spokesperson said the two men discussed Saudi Arabia’s attempts to improve human rights in the country, despite it being a lower priority than the economy, as well as the situation in Israel and Gaza.
The prime minister invited the crown prince to the UK, and said he hoped they would be able to go to a football match in between meetings “if he took up the offer”.
A new defence partnership between the two countries was announced, including on combat air capabilities, which is set to last for generations.
The Royal Saudi Air Force has operated UK-manufactured Typhoon combat aircraft since 2008.
Mr Starmer’s long-planned trip to the Middle East came amid regional uncertainty following the collapse of Syrian President Bashar al Assad’s regime in Syria.
The UK announced an additional £11m of humanitarian aid for the most vulnerable people in Syria.