Britain’s balancing act with Saudi Arabia

It was a mark of how strong British public criticism of Saudi Arabia had become that the UK Foreign Secretary did not announce his own press conference when visiting the country.

Philip Hammond had actually scored an important political result during the trip: Karl Andree, a British grandfather imprisoned in Saudi Arabia last year for transporting alcohol, was to be released and returned to the UK.

“This is a good outcome and I'm grateful to minister al-Jubeir and all other people who have been involved, especially His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, for ensuring that we now have a good outcome to this case which has caused such concern in Britain,” he said on Wednesday.

But when Hammond announced the news at a Riyadh press conference, many British outlets were not present. According to the deputy political editor of The Times newspaper, Sam Coates, on Twitter, they were not given prior notice of it: “The first we knew of the press conference is when small excerpts were sent to UK broadcasters. No-one here seen the presser in full.”

The episode demonstrated how sensitive a topic Saudi Arabia has become in Britain.

Andree’s case had provoked an outcry after it was reported the 74-year-old faced 350 lashes in addition to his year in prison as punishment for breaking Saudi Arabia’s strict anti-alcohol laws. He was caught by police in Jeddah with homemade wine in the boot of his car in August 2014.

Amid a flurry of U.K. tabloid stories attacking the reported punishment, over 250,000 people signed a petition started by Andree’s son, Simon, calling for U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron to intervene.

But it is not just Karl Andree’s case that has kept Saudi Arabia in British headlines over recent months.

In September, new opposition leader Jeremy Corbyn used his first conference speech to criticize the Saudi human rights record.

He highlighted the cases of blogger Raif Badawi, who has been lashed in public, and alleged anti-government protester Ali Mohammed al-Nimr, who faces death by beheading. Britain must do more to draw attention to these cases, Corbyn said.

On the same day that Andree’s case was made public, the British government announced it had withdrawn a bid for a multimillion dollar contract to provide prison services to Saudi Arabia.

The government said it took the decision to “firmly focus on our domestic priorities”, but The Times reported cabinet ministers were uncomfortable about the deal because of the Saudi human rights record.

Corbyn said David Cameron had been “shamed into a U-turn on this terrible contract”.

He said at the time: “We should be sending a strong message to repressive regimes that the U.K. is a beacon for human rights and that this contract bid is unacceptable in the 21st century, and would damage Britain’s standing in the world.”

The negative coverage prompted Mohammed bin Nawaf bin Abdulaziz, Saudi Arabia’s London ambassador, to attack British critics of his country – including Corbyn – in a strongly-worded newspaper column.

“Saudi Arabia and the UK are fortunate to have forged such a strong alliance – one that dates back to before the foundation of the Kingdom in 1932,” he wrote in the Daily Telegraph on Monday. “Up until a few weeks ago, I would have said it had never been stronger.”

While accepting his embassy “can do more to create a better understanding of my country”, Prince Mohammed said Saudi Arabia “will not be lectured to by anyone” and its trade and security ties with Britain meant they should be treated with more respect.

Corbyn’s claim to have convinced Cameron to cancel the Saudi prisons contract was one example of respect “being breached”, the ambassador said.

He said the Saudis had put £90 billion ($138 billion) into U.K. business investments, making it an important commercial partner, while the vital intelligence it shares with U.K. agencies had helped prevent terror attacks in Britain.

“If the extensive trade links between the two countries are going to be subordinate to certain political ideologies, then this vital commercial exchange is going to be at risk,” he said

The demand for greater respect was dismissed by U.K. pressure groups.

Allan Hogarth, from Amnesty International, said in an email to Anadolu Agency there was “no way” Britain should bow to the pressure.

“The facts on Saudi Arabia’s grim human rights record speak for themselves and can’t be ignored. The young protester Ali al-Nimr is currently awaiting execution there despite his youth and serious concerns over the safety of his conviction. And the case of Raif Badawi sentenced to flogging and 10 years imprisonment for blogging demonstrates how Saudi treats its critics,” he said.

Kate Higham, from international human rights body Reprieve, added in a separate email: “The Saudi Government’s misconceived view seems to be that not only must Britain keep its mouth shut about their horrific abuses – we should also be actively supporting them.

“They need to realise that until they put a stop to the horrific abuses in the Kingdom, no country with any respect for human rights will want to go near their ‘justice’ system.”

Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond praised his hosts in Riyadh on Wednesday, saying it was the “strength, depth and breadth” of the U.K.’s ties with Saudi Arabia that allowed them to cooperate on issues like Karl Andree.

But British public opinion will likely make it a tricky relationship to navigate.