This article is more than 1 year old

This article is more than 1 year old

The foreign secretary, Jeremy Hunt, has warned Saudi Arabia that its friendship with the UK depends on shared values, after he demanded answers over claims that a Saudi hit squad may have played a role in the disappearance and possible killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

Hunt tweeted the message after meeting the Saudi ambassador to London, Mohammed bin Nawwaf bin Abdulaziz, on Tuesday.

It was the second time in two days that the ambassador had been questioned by the Foreign Office about what the Saudi royal family may know about the disappearance of one of the highest profile critics of the Saudi leadership.

He discussed the episode with the permanent secretary to the Foreign Office, Sir Simon McDonald, on Monday.

Hunt also spoke with the Saudi foreign minister Adel al-Jubeir, for the first time raising the issue at ministerial level.

Profile Who was Jamal Khashoggi? Show Hide Jamal Khashoggi was one of the Arab world’s most prominent journalists and commentators. He was an outspoken critic of Saudi Arabia who dared to defy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. While living in Saudi Arabia, Khashoggi was told to stop writing or posting on Twitter, where he had more than 1.6 million followers. He moved to the US in June 2017, where he continued to comment on his country both in print and on television. He wrote columns for the Washington Post and the Guardian.

His message struck a nuanced tone in the US, where he tried to acknowledge the reforms undertaken by Bin Salman while also highlighting the flaws. Khashoggi previously had close links with the Saudi royal family, including having served as a media aide to Prince Turki al-Faisal, when the latter was director general of the Saudi intelligence agency. He was also a former editor of the Saudi newspaper al-Watan and had worked with Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, a grandson of the first Saudi king. Khashoggi was murdered in the Saudi Arabian consulate in Istanbul in October 2018. Photograph: Virginia Mayo/AP

Hunt said he was seeking urgent answers about the fate of Khashoggi. “Violence against journalists is going up and is a grave threat to freedom of expression. If media reports prove correct we will treat the incident seriously – friendships depend on shared values,” he added.

The meeting came as the US president, Donald Trump, said he had yet not spoken to Saudi officials about Khashoggi’s disappearance but planned to later.

“I have not. But I will be at some point,” he told reporters in the Oval Office. “I know nothing right now. I know what everybody else knows - nothing.”

Turkish authorities are examining motorway cameras in the search for a black van that left the Saudi consulate in Istanbul last week and that investigators believe belonged to a Saudi hit squad. Khashoggi was last seen entering the consulate on Tuesday last week.

Saudi Arabia has said allegations that it killed Khashoggi are “baseless” but has offered no evidence over the past seven days to show he ever left the building.

The UK has extensive commercial and military links with Saudi and will be reluctant to cause long-term damage to the relationship, but it also has strong links with the Turkish government.

The Foreign Office has never had any illusions that the Saudi economic and social modernisation programme under the crown prince Mohammed Bin Salman, the de facto ruler, includes any commitment to free expression or a turn towards democracy.