Campaigners criticise Saudi king's visit
Updated on 30 October 2007
Human rights groups have criticised King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia's trip to Britain.
The Queen and Prince Philip have officially welcome the king in a lavish ceremony at Horseguards Parade and will later host a state banquet at Buckingham Palace.
But controversy over his country's human rights record refuses to go away.
King Abdullah was embroiled in controversy even before his convoy of five planes touched down in London after insisting that Britain was not doing enough to tackle terrorism.
The Foreign Office was also forced to rebut his claims that the Saudi authorities had provided information which could have averted the July 7 attacks.
Human rights groups are urging the Government to put pressure on the king over allegations of torture and subjugation of women, and the row over the dropping of the Serious Fraud Office bribery inquiry into the massive al-Yamamah arms deal continues to simmer.
There have also been claims that groups linked to the Saudi regime have been distributing hate literature from British mosques.
Members of the royal houses of Windsor and Saud are regular visitors to each other's countries and have built up a firm friendship over the decades.
This week's trip is the first state visit by a Saudi monarch for 20 years, and is regarded as "extremely important" by the Government, because of the desert kingdom's pivotal role in vital global issues including counter-terrorism, the Middle East peace process, Iraq and Iran.
Liberal Democrat acting leader Vince Cable announced he would boycott the visit, while backbench Labour MPs are planning to join human rights demonstrators staging a protest outside the Saudi embassy tomorrow.
The Foreign Office has said that human rights issues will not "dominate" ministerial talks with the visiting Saudi delegation.
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