Foreign secretary, who accused UK ally of regional ‘puppeteering’ before highlighting ‘friendship’, told not to go easy for fear of causing offence

Boris Johnson is facing calls from fellow Conservatives not to brush aside human rights concerns after he used a visit to Saudi Arabia to stress the country’s links with the UK, with both countries playing down his criticism of Riyadh’s regional “puppeteering”.

The British foreign secretary used a joint press conference with his Saudi counterpart to express only generalised “deep concern” for the humanitarian situation in Yemen, where a Saudi-led coalition has been accused of widespread rights abuses.

Speaking three days after footage emerged of Johnson accusing Saudi Arabia of “twisting” Islam and using proxies to fight its battles in the Middle East, the foreign secretary said he wanted to “emphasise the friendship” between the countries.

However, one influential voice for moderate Conservatives has urged the Foreign Office not to back away on important human rights issues for fear of offending allies, such as Saudi Arabia.

The Bright Blue thinktank, which counts about 130 Tory MPs and peers among its supporters, has set up a commission to examine how human rights can better influence government policy.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Dominic Grieve. Photograph: Linda Nylind/The Guardian

Dominic Grieve, the former attorney general who is part of the commission, said it would be a mistake to allow the issue to be sidelined.

“Encouraging a debate on how we promote human rights as part of foreign policy is completely sensible,” he said.



“Ultimately, government does have a difficult task in reconciling the promotion of human rights and the other necessities of international relationships, including maintaining peace and security cooperation. But my point is they should always have this issue in mind, and if they do they’re likely to come up with the right decision and answers.”

Johnson’s mollifying remarks in Saudi Arabia came after his critical comments – made at a conference in Rome – prompted a strong rebuke from Downing Street. He also faced criticism from other senior Tories, such as the former foreign secretary Malcom Rifkind, who said he might be more suited to another cabinet position.

There appeared to be a concerted attempt by both countries on Sunday to dampen down any controversy and return to business as usual. It is understood that Johnson’s contentious words were not raised by his hosts at any of the meetings in Riyadh.

Speaking alongside Johnson, the Saudi foreign minister, Adel al-Jubeir, blamed the media for confecting a row. “I have no doubt that his comments as reported in the press were misconstrued,” he said. “If you look at the actual video of what was said, it was not as implied in the press.”

The same message was delivered from London by one of Theresa May’s most trusted ministers, with Michael Fallon, the defence secretary, also seeking to blame the press.

“The way it was interpreted left people with the impression that we didn’t support Saudi Arabia and we do,” he told BBC1’s Andrew Marr Show.

“You’ve got a very big personality, like Boris, who makes speeches all around the world, and I think there’s a danger all this gets slightly overtextualised,” he said. “Downing Street was asked what the policy is so far as Saudi Arabia’s right to defend itself, and they were very clear on that.”



However, Ryan Shorthouse, Bright Blue’s director, said Johnson should not be warned away from discussing human rights. He said: “It is important that the foreign secretary speaks out more on these issues and is better advised and held to account on doing so.”

Grieve said he understood Downing Street’s concern about Johnson’s comments in Rome, as his job meant they would be mistaken for official policy.

He added: “But many people might find the foreign secretary’s comments quite reassuring in some ways, that he takes human rights issues seriously.



“I certainly don’t want to be castigating the government for doing what is a difficult job. But I do think you need to keep the issue in mind.”

On his return to London, Johnson faces further pressure on the subject, with Labour seeking to drag him into a row over whether the Conservatives should go ahead with a plan to downgrade parliamentary scrutiny of UK arms exports licences, including arms sales to Saudi Arabia.

Foreign Office officials are to be called to a special meeting of the foreign affairs select committee on Tuesday to set out the extent to which human rights must be considered before arms export licences are granted.



Conservatives want to close down the current committee looking at arms exports controls, and hand its role to an already busy international trade select committee.

Labour MPs claim the government is exploiting the departmental reorganisation to close down the specially established committee on arms export controls, a select committee with specialist knowledge of arms export sales, and their uses, and 15 years of experience.



Johnson’s trip to Riyadh was scheduled before he made his comments about Saudi Arabia, which prompted May’s spokeswoman to stress it was the foreign secretary’s opinion and not the government’s view.

At the press conference with Jubeir, Johnson said: “I should just stress as far as a Yemen is concerned, Britain supports the Saudi-led campaign to restore the legitimate government and we have continued our dialogue on the conduct of this operation, a detailed dialogue.

“Of course, we continue, like everybody in this room and around the world, to have a deep concern for the suffering of the people of Yemen.”



In the one reference to his comments in Rome, he said: “And it’s also fair to say that we believe in candour in our relationship. Now is the time for us to talk about the positive things that we are doing together.”