A game is being played to protect someone involved in the murder of Jamal Khashoggi, the Turkish president has claimed.

Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said he had shared information with the German chancellor, Angela Merkel, and the French president, Emmanuel Macron, at the weekend that the two European leaders had not previously known.

Erdoğan’s remarks have been interpreted as his most pointed attempt yet to suggest the Saudi crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, cleared the killing of Khashoggi inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on 2 October.

Over the past fortnight, the Saudis have changed their story to accept the Washington Post columnist’s murder was premeditated, but claim the 15 Saudi officials who went to Istanbul acted without Bin Salman’s authority or knowledge. They are under investigation in Saudi Arabia, along with three other senior figures, including the deputy head of intelligence.

The comments from the Turkish president also suggest any effort by western powers to smooth over the dispute between Turkey and Saudi Arabia is being given short shrift in Ankara, and Turkey is trying to either dislodge Bin Salman or weaken his previously unparalleled power in Riyadh.

Saudi Arabia’s most senior prosecutor, Saud al-Mujeb, visited the Istanbul consulate on Tuesday.

Speaking to reporters, Erdoğan said: “Who sent these 15 people? As Saudi public prosecutor, you have to ask that question, so you can reveal it.

“Now we have to solve this case. No need to prevaricate, it makes no sense to try to save certain people. We cannot let this subject end midway.”

Al-Mujeb arrived at the consulate after visiting Istanbul’s main courthouse for the second time as part of an investigation into the killing.

During the meeting, official Turkish sources said he was due to be presented with a 150-page dossier including interviews with 45 consulate employees and phone recordings of Khashoggi with consulate officers.

It was reported that not all the evidence gathered by the Turks was handed to Saudi Arabia, but the Saudi leadership will have been informed by other sources on the quality of the intelligence, including the extent to which there was direct contact between the Saudi consul general’s office and the crown prince’s office during Khashoggi’s interrogation inside the consulate.

In the House of Commons, the UK foreign secretary, Jeremy Hunt, refused to be drawn on a weekend newspaper report that MI6 had prior knowledge that the Saudis intended to abduct or kill Khashoggi. The report in the Express claimed the UK foreign intelligence service became aware of Riyadh’s plan three weeks before it took place.

“I do not comment on intelligence matters, but I had absolutely no prior knowledge myself of the terrible Khashoggi murder and was as shocked as everyone else was,” the foreign secretary said.

Hunt was asked twice by the shadow foreign secretary, Emily Thornberry, to spell out whether UK intelligence services had known of the Saudi plan, and urged him if necessary to give emergency evidence behind closed doors to the intelligence and security committee.

He said he would look at any such invitation, but insisted it would be inappropriate for him to comment in public on the work of the intelligence services.

Hunt insisted he had spoken more clearly than any other European foreign minister on the fact that if the allegations proved true, Saudi Arabia would have shown it did not share the UK’s values.

The Middle East minister, Alistair Burt, also rejected calls to end UK arms sales to Saudi Arabia, and denied the Saudis had invaded Yemen, rather they had acted in support of the UN-recognised government.