David Cameron splashes £100k of taxpayers' money on flight to Saudi king's funeral

 

The Prime Minister has come under fire after it was revealed he used more than £100,000 of taxpayers cash to charter a flight for the king of Saudi Arabia's funeral.
David Cameron has been slammed by human rights groups after newly-released government documents showed the taxpayer forked out a whopping £101,792 for a flight to attend the funeral of King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz in January.
According to the cash was used to charter the flight for the Prime Minster and five officials accompanying him.
The government documents revealed the purpose of the trip was: "To pay condolences following death of King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz."

 

Dead: The Prime Minster was attending the funeral of Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz

The documents were released by the Cabinet Office and show the cost of all Cameron's trips overseas between July 2014 and March 2015.
By contrast, a two-day trip to the United States just over a week earlier for "Global economy security visit and to attend bilateral meetings" cost just £3,986.
Release of the documents come at a time when UK-Saudi relations are under greater scrutiny than ever with many calling for the Prime Minster to distant links to the hardline nation.
Opponents claim rulers in the Middle East country frequently breach human rights and have hit out at the number of state sanctioned beheadings.

PA

Tribute: The flag at Buckingham Palace flew at half mast as a mark of respect for King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia

Tensions have also grown since it was revealed British pensioner Karl Andree faces 360 lashes after he was caught with alcohol in his car in the country.
Maya Foa, head of death penalty team at charity Reprieve, told The Guardian: "The government is clearly going to great lengths to preserve its close relationship with Saudi Arabia.
"But with a terrible human rights record that includes the planned execution of juveniles Ali al-Nimr and Dawoud al-Marhoon, it is crucial that the Saudis are strongly pressured to change course by its closest allies – the UK included.”
Last week, the UK government pulled out of a multi-million pound contract to help run Saudi prisons after pressure from human rights groups.

 

Respects: Prince Charles and David Cameron offered condolences following the death of Saudi King Abdullah in Riyadh

When previously grilled about why the UK is so close to Saudia Arabia, Cameron said: "It’s because we receive from them important intelligence and security information that keeps us safe. The reason we have the relationship is our own national security."
A spokesman for the Prime Minister said: "This charter flight was for a group involving the prime minister, Downing Street officials, the royal household and protection officers.
"The visit was to pay condolences following the death of the king, which was attended by heads of state from across the world."


UkMirror