A government minister has defended the Saudi Arabian takeover of Newcastle United as MPs described the mass execution of 81 men as a “new low” for the kingdom and urged the prime minister to cancel a visit.
Senior Conservative MP Crispin Blunt, a former chair of the House of Commons foreign affairs committee, asked an urgent parliamentary question on Monday following the largest mass execution by Saudi Arabia in recent memory.
According to Saudi state media, the group had been convicted on charges including terrorism and holding “deviant beliefs”.
The PM is expected to visit Saudi Arabia for talks with Mohammed bin Salman
Mr Blunt told the Commons the execution of 81 men on one day was of “profound concern to this House and to our country”.
He said it represented “a new low for human rights and criminal justice in the kingdom, coming only a week after the Crown Prince (Mohammed bin Salman) promised to modernise the Saudi justice system”.
The Tory former minister warned that Boris Johnson would face “exquisite difficulties” ahead of the PM’s expected visit to Saudi Arabia.
It has been reported that Mr Johnson is planning to meet with the Crown Prince in the hope his kingdom can raise its production of oil and gas.
This would allow the West to wean itself off Russian supplies following Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.
Just over three years ago, Mr Johnson described the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi – which the Saudi Crown Prince is accused of ordering – as a “barbaric act to which we in Britain refuse to turn a blind eye”.
Jamal Khashoggi was murdered in 2018
He also suggested that the Saudi state had “copied the playbook of Vladimir Putin” with the “ostentatious horror of this murder”.
Beheading, ‘whatever their alleged crime, is an atrocity’
Alyn Smith, the SNP’s foreign affairs spokesperson told the Commons that “executing 81 people in public by beheading, whatever their alleged crime, is an atrocity and there need to be consequences beyond harsh criticism”.
He said the PM’s visit to Saudi “should not go ahead”.
Liberal Democrat MP Alistair Carmichael told MPs that “actions speak louder than words”.
“If the PM goes in the next few days to Saudi Arabia, we will be sending a very clear signal that no matter what we say, we’re not really bothered about this sort of thing,” he added.
Other MPs also questioned the new ownership of Newcastle United, with Labour’s Mike Amesbury asking whether the Saudi Arabian public investment fund was a “right, proper and fit-for-purpose owner” of the football club.
However, foreign office minister Amanda Milling defended the Saudi investment in the Premier League side.
“The Saudi Arabian public investment fund is a significant investor, having invested billions in the UK and other Western markets,” she said.
“It operates across a range of sectors. We welcome the purchase of Newcastle United, a sign that the UK remains a great place to invest.”
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In response to Labour’s Chi Onwurah – the Newcastle upon Tyne Central MP who raised concerns about “sportswashing” – Ms Milling said the government “never had a role at any point in the club’s prospective takeover”.
She added the Saudi purchase of Newcastle had been “a commercial matter for the Premier League”.
Ms Milling told MPs that the UK “strongly opposes the death penalty in all countries and in all circumstances, as a matter of principle”.
“No aspect of our relationship with Saudi Arabia prevents us from speaking frankly about human rights,” she said.
Fresh scrutiny has recently been thrown onto the Saudi takeover of Newcastle following the government’s sanctioning of Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich over his ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
