Boris Johnson to ask Saudi Arabia to help bring down worldwide oil prices in light of Ukraine crisis – despite outrage over Riyadh’s execution of 81 men last weekend
- Downing Street said the PM will ask the desert kingdom to increase oil supplies
- The Prime Minister is flying to the Gulf this week amid skyhigh oil prices
- Pump prices hit new records at the weekend, with petrol averaging £1.63 a litre and diesel £1.73
Boris Johnson is to ask Saudi Arabia to help bring down world oil prices despite outrage over its execution of 81 men at the weekend.
Downing Street said he would ask the desert kingdom and other countries in the Opec oil cartel to increase supplies to ‘reduce the volatility and bring prices down’.
The Prime Minister will travel to the Gulf this week amid growing concern about the impact of the Ukraine crisis on oil prices.
The RAC yesterday said pump prices hit new records at the weekend, with petrol averaging £1.63 a litre and diesel £1.73 – equal to £95 to fill a typical tank.
The Prime Minister will travel to the Gulf this week amid growing concern about the impact of the Ukraine crisis on oil prices.
No 10 refused to confirm Mr Johnson’s trip yesterday but acknowledged he was expected to raise the issue with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. The talks look set to be overshadowed by Saudi Arabia’s decision at the weekend to execute 81 men for a range of offences, some of which are said to have been committed when they were children.
Foreign Office minister Amanda Milling said the Government was ‘shocked’ by the executions and would ‘not shy away’ from raising human rights with the Saudis.
Opposition MPs called on the PM to cancel his planned trip.
The RAC yesterday said pump prices hit new records at the weekend, with petrol averaging £1.63 a litre and diesel £1.73
SNP foreign affairs spokesman Alyn Smith said the Government should also suspend all judicial co-operation with Saudi Arabia.
Tory MP Julian Lewis, chairman of Parliament’s intelligence and security committee, warned that in trying to reduce dependency on Russian oil Britain could ‘end up creating a source dependency on another unreliable and sometimes hostile regime’.
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