Canada is looking to cancel its multibillion-pound deal selling armoured vehicles to Saudi Arabia, prime minister Justin Trudeau has said.

The announcement, made on Sunday in an interview with broadcaster CTV, represents a hardening in tone by the Canadian premier, who had previously warned of large penalties for Ottawa were it to scrap its $13bn (£7.7bn) deal with Riyadh.

“We are engaged with the export permits to try and see if there is a way of no longer exporting these vehicles to Saudi Arabia,” Mr Trudeau said.

He did not give further details, though the prime minister’s office later noted Mr Trudeau has also called the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi “unacceptable”.

Political opponents, citing the murder of Khashoggi and Saudi Arabia’s involvement in the Yemen war, have pressured Mr Trudeau to end the deal for armoured vehicles, which was negotiated by the previous Conservative government.

Last month, Mr Trudeau said Canada could freeze the relevant export permits if it concluded the vehicles, made by the Canadian branch of General Dynamics, had been misused.

Relations between Canada and Saudi Arabia have been tense since a diplomatic dispute over human rights earlier this year.

In September, Riyadh expelled Canada’s ambassador, recalled medical students from the country and curbed investment over tweets made by the Canadian foreign minister criticising Saudi Arabia’s human rights record.

Then, in November, Saudi Arabia was forced to admit it was responsible for the murder of Khashoggi in its consulate in Istanbul.

Republican senator Lindsey Graham says Saudi Crown Prince complicit in murder of Jamal Khashoggi 'to the highest level possible'

The killing sparked global outrage and piled pressure on major arms exporters, including the UK, to cancel sales to the Gulf state.

“The murder of a journalist is absolutely unacceptable and that’s why Canada from the very beginning had been demanding answers and solutions on that,” Mr Trudeau said on Sunday.

Jamal Khashoggi death: key figures Show all 7 1 /7 Jamal Khashoggi death: key figures Jamal Khashoggi death: key figures Jamal Khashoggi Washington Post journalist who was critical of the Saudi regime and the young Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, he was murdered on 2 October in the Saudi Arabian consulate in Istanbul AFP Jamal Khashoggi death: key figures Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman Heir to the Saudi throne, Mohammed bin Salman has been implicated in the murder, with US officials claiming that he must have known of the plot AFP/Getty Jamal Khashoggi death: key figures 15 man hit squad Turkish police suspect these 15 men of being involved in the murder of Jamal Khashoggi, issued 10 October, 8 days after the journalist disappeared EPA Jamal Khashoggi death: key figures Saud al-Qahtani Aide to Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Saud al-Qahtani is claimed to have ordered Khashoggi's murder Saud Al-Qahtani/Twitter Jamal Khashoggi death: key figures Maher Abdulaziz Mutreb A former diplomat who often travelled with the Crown Prince, Mutreb was initially claimed to be the leader of the hit squad and is pictured here entering the Saudi consulate on the day of the murder AP Jamal Khashoggi death: key figures Mustafa al-Madani First implicated in the 15 CCTV photos released by the Turkish police, al-Madani was later found to have been used as a body double for Khashoggi, leaving the Saudi consulate dressed in his clothes on the day the journalist was killed CNN Jamal Khashoggi death: key figures Salah bin Jamal Khashoggi (L) Son of the murdered journalist met with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on 23 October EPA

The Danish, German, Dutch and Finnish governments have all imposed arms embargoes on Saudi Arabia over the ongoing killing of civilians in Yemen.

So far, the British government has resisted joining the international efforts to stem the unfolding humanitarian catastrophe – the UK has sold £4.7bn worth of arms to since 2015.