Cabinet minister says Saudi explanation for death of journalist ‘not credible’

Saudi Arabia’s explanation about the death of a dissident journalist is not credible but the UK is not preparing to terminate it relationship with the state, a Cabinet minister has said.

The Gulf kingdom admitted on Friday that Jamal Khashoggi was killed at its Istanbul consulate but claimed he died after a fight broke out.

Brexit Secretary Dominic Raab said it was a “terrible case” but the UK government was “not throwing our hands in the air” because thousands of jobs depended on relations with the country.

He said the government supported an investigation into the killing.

Asked if he believed the Saudi government’s explanation, Mr Raab said: “No, I don’t think it’s credible.”

“We are not throwing our hands in the air and terminating the relationship with Saudi Arabia, not just because of the huge number of British jobs that depend on it but also because if you exert influence over your partners you need to be able to talk to them,” he told BBC One’s The Andrew Marr Show.

The government has come under pressure from Labour and the Liberal Democrats to ban arms sales to the kingdom but Mr Raab insisted the UK’s export regime was “one of the most rigorous” in the world.

“The problem with Labour’s position is it would cost thousands of British jobs. So, what we would rather do is support the investigation, find out what happened.”