London, England Mar 7, 2018
Mohammad bin Salman is expected to begin an official visit to the UK on Wednesday, with the ruling Conservative Party and royal family rolling out the red carpet for Saudi Arabia’s crown prince as opposition politicians and rights groups call on British Prime Minister Theresa May to use the trip to challenge the kingdom’s record on human rights.
Protesters are expected to gather outside Downing Street in London on Wednesday from 17:00 GMT to demonstrate against the visit.
The trip by the crown prince, who is known as MBS, includes a stop at May’s countryside residence for talks on Thursday, a lunch with the queen and a dinner with Prince Charles and Prince William.
British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson had praised the 32-year-old’s Vision 2030 national programme, a series of reforms to modernise the Gulf state, writing in a newspaper column on February 28 that the Gulf royal deserved Britain’s support.
In the kingdom, Mohammed bin Salman is credited with leading a series of social reforms, such as allowing women to drive and lifting a 35-year ban on cinemas.
However, activists say Saudi Arabia still has a poor human rights record and have warned against interpreting these reforms as heralding new freedoms.
On Tuesday, Jeremy Corbyn, leader of the main opposition Labour Party, joined a chorus of activists, saying that May should tell the crown prince that Britain would no longer supply arms to Riyadh “while the devastating Saudi-led bombing of Yemen continues”.
May should also “make clear Britain’s strong opposition to widespread human and civil rights abuses in Saudi Arabia”, he said.
Caroline Lucas, former leader of the Green Party, tweeted on Tuesday: “Isn’t it time we stop giving the red carpet treatment to despots and dictators?”
