BORIS Johnson has met with the United Arab Emirates’ Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed ahead of his trip to Saudi Arabia – but the media was barred from their discussions.
The small pool of UK journalists travelling with the Prime Minister had no access to the meeting, with coverage only granted to Number 10’s official photographer and videographer.
It comes as Johnson faces scrutiny for his effort to forge closer ties with Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates as he works to wean the UK off of Russian fossil fuels in the wake of their invasion of Ukraine.
READ MORE: Boris Johnson declares Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates 'key international partners'
Labour chief Keir Starmer has accused the Prime Minister of going from “dictator to dictator” in his search for a new energy strategy, given the two countries’ record on human rights.
Just this weekend Saudi Arabia executed 81 people, one of its largest mass executions in recent history. According to human rights organisations, the UAE has a history of violating a number of human rights including the imprisonment of those who speak out against the state, while there are also reported instances of torture in custody.
Flogging and stoning remain legal forms of punishment, while freedom of speech is heavily restricted. The UAE is not a signee of most human rights treaties.
Starmer called on Johnson to implement a windfall tax on oil producers to help bring down energy costs, rather than seek more fossil fuels in the Middle East.
Johnson insisted he would be raising these human rights concerns with the countries during his trip.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson boards his plane at Abu Dhabi airport, United Arab Emirates, for the trip to Riyadh
Asked about working with a regime with such a questionable human rights record, the Prime Minister said: “I’ve raised all those issues many, many times … since I was foreign secretary and beyond and I’ll raise them all again today.
“But we have long, long-standing relationships with this part of the world and we need to recognise the very important relationship that we have.”
With journalists excluded from Johnson’s meeting with the UAE Crown Prince, it is not known which human rights violations the Prime Minister chose to bring up.
It is currently unclear whether the media will be allowed into his meeting with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Riyadh later on Wednesday.
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel