Mohammed bin Salman, the crown prince of Saudi Arabia, reportedly told the White House that Jamal Khashoggi was a dangerous Islamist in a phone call days after the journalist was murdered.

Crown Prince Mohammed told Jared Kushner, Donald Trump’s son-in-law, and John Bolton, the president’s national security advisor, that Mr Khashoggi was a member of the Muslim Brotherhood, according to the Washington Post.

The prince’s private disparagement of the murdered journalist is at odds with his public comments, where he described Mr Khashoggi’s killing as “repulsive” and said it was “very painful for all Saudis”.

His reported comments were made while Saudi Arabia was still claiming that Mr Khashoggi had walked safely out of the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, a story that has now changed several times.

The remarks are likely to fuel suspicions among US senators that Crown Prince Mohammed ordered Mr Khashoggi’s death but placed the blame on low-level operatives after the killing led to a diplomatic crisis.

Saudi Arabia has arrested 18 men on suspicion of killing Mr Khashoggi but denied that Crown Prince Mohammed ordered his death or had any involvement in it.