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Saudi king's visit to UK sparks controversy

Saudi King Abdullah Al Saud, front left, is met by British Prince Charles, center, at Heathrow Airport, London, on Monday. PHOTO: AFP

Saudi King Abdullah was set to officially start a controversial three-day state visit to Britain yesterday, the first by a Saudi monarch in two decades, amid planned protests.

The trip got off to an inauspicious start on Monday with London rebutting claims made by the king hours before his arrival that Britain had failed to act on intelligence from his country that could have stopped the July 7 bombings.

In addition to that, some politicians and activists are planning demonstrations over human rights abuses and corruption in Saudi Arabia.

The king was greeted by heir-to-the-throne Prince Charles when he arrived at London's Heathrow Airport, and will stay at Buckingham Palace, Queen Elizabeth II's official residence in the capital.

The queen was scheduled to formally greet Abdullah yesterday morning, followed by a state carriage procession, before a state banquet at Buckingham Palace where the queen and Saudi king were to deliver speeches.

He is also set to meet Prime Minister Gordon Brown today, where they will likely focus on counter-terrorism, Iran, the Middle East peace process, Iraq and Lebanon, a Foreign Office official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said.

The official played down Abdullah's remarks in a BBC interview on Monday that Saudi Arabia had conveyed intelligence to Britain that could have prevented the 2005 London bombings, which killed 52 commuters when four young British men blew themselves up on London's public transport system.

The king also told the broadcaster, through an interpreter: "I believe most countries are not taking this issue [the threat of international terrorism] too seriously -- including, unfortunately, Great Britain."

Britain's domestic security service MI5 has said it received "no prior warning," and while the Saudis did provide information about a possible attack in Britain, this was "materially different" from the London bombings.

The official said that Britain's relationship with Saudi Arabia is "in many ways one of the most important we have with any state," while the Daily Telegraph described the bilateral ties as "not for the squeamish."

"In the real world, we have to conduct foreign policy on the basis of national self-interest," the paper's editorial said.

"And in the world's most unstable region, that means a constructive working relationship with Saudi Arabia."

Much of the rest of the king's trip is likely to spark controversy as well, with Vincent Cable, acting leader of Britain's third-biggest party, the center-left Liberal Democrats, taking the rare step of boycotting the visit in protest over human rights and an allegedly fraudulent arms deal.

Britain's Serious Fraud Office last year investigated British Aerospace Systems' (BAE) US$88 billion 1985 al-Yamamah deal, which provided jets and other military equipment to Saudi Arabia.

But the BAE investigation was shelved by the British government on the grounds of national interest last December.

Today protesters were expected to stage a mass human rights rally outside the Saudi embassy.

A spokeswoman for Brown's Downing Street office said he would "raise issues he believes to be appropriate" with the king.

"The government has, where necessary, raised concerns we have regarding human rights but equally we are recognizing that there have been developments under way," she said.
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