Donald Trump has insisted he believes the death of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi was the result of a “plot gone awry”, according to reports last night.
The president indicated that he thought the Washington Post columnist was not deliberately lured to the Saudi consulate in Istanbul to be murdered.
Mr Trump’s latest comments, which he gave USA Today, come after he earlier said he was “not satisfied” with Saudi Arabia’s account of the journalist’s death.
Officials for the kingdom admitted on Friday that Mr Khashoggi was dead, but said he died after a "fist fight" at its Istanbul consulate.
European leaders have called the various conflicting accounts of the death "inadequate", and both the UN and EU have called for an investigation.
During his interview with USA Today, the president added that he would be "very upset " if it is proven Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman was involved in the killing of Mr Khashoggi.
It comes after Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt said Saudi Arabia’s official claim Mr Khashoggi died in a fightwas “not credible.”
He acknowledged that the UK had close security and business links with Saudi Arabia but ”if the appalling stories we are reading turn out to be true” the UK “will act accordingly.”
He was backed by Prime Minister Theresa May who condemned the killing “in the strongest possible terms” and added “we must get to the truth of what happened.”
Mr Hunt told MPs: “We have an important strategic partnership with Saudi Arabia involving defence and security co-operation which has saved lives on the streets of Britain. We also have a trading partnership that supports thousands of jobs.
Turkish government sources have claimed that Mr Khashoggi was tortured and murdered by a hit squad flown in from Riyadh.
The Saudis initially dismissed the allegations as baseless, without providing an explanation as to how the writer disappeared after entering the consulate on October 2.
A number of Saudi nationals have since been arrested, while deputy intelligence chief Ahmad al-Assiri and Saud al-Qahtani, a senior aide to Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, have been dismissed, state TV reported.
