A Downing Street spokesperson said:

The Prime Minister spoke to His Royal Highness Prince Mohammed bin Salman of Saudi Arabia this afternoon.

She began by congratulating him on his recent appointment as Crown Prince and Deputy Prime Minister. She said she looked forward to deepening our close bilateral ties – building on their productive meetings during her recent visit to Saudi Arabia.

They agreed that the UK and Saudi Arabia have a strong and historic partnership, and will continue to work together on areas such as trade, investment and security, in support of Saudi Arabia’s ambitious reform agenda ‘Vision 2030’.

The Prime Minister raised the issue of the ongoing isolation of Qatar in the region. She reiterated the need for all sides take urgent steps to de-escalate the situation and restore Gulf Cooperation Council unity.

She welcomed the extension of the deadline for Qatar to respond to the concerns raised by Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt, and noted that this demonstrated the willingness of all parties to make progress towards a solution. She said the UK remains committed to supporting this process.

The Prime Minister was also clear that Qatar should continue to work with its Gulf allies to tackle the threat of extremism and terrorism in the region.

They ended the call by looking forward to meeting in London at the earliest opportunity.