Donald Trump says Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi could have been murdered by 'rogue killers'

Donald Trump has suggested that missing Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi could have been murdered by “rogue killers” after speaking to the kingdom’s ruler, who denied having any involvement in the incident.

In comments that drew immediate criticism for his apparent unquestioning acceptance of the Saudi denial, Mr Trump said he was dispatching Mike Pompeo to meet King Salman in Saudi Arabia, a major purchaser of US arms.

“It sounded to me that maybe this could have been rogue killers,” Mr Trump said about his call to the king.

Mr Trump said he had been told Turkey and Saudi Arabia were working “hand in hand” to get to the bottom of what happened. ”Mike Pompeo is leaving literally within an hour or so heading to Saudi Arabia. We are going to leave nothing uncovered,” he said.

“With that being said the king firmly denies any knowledge of it. He didn’t really know, maybe, I don’t want to get into his mind but it sounded to me like maybe it could have been rogue killers, who knows? We’re going to try get to the bottom of it very soon but his was a flat denial.”

Mr Trump’s comments came as Turkey and Saudi Arabia were expected to conduct a joint inspection on Monday of the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, nearly two weeks after the disappearance of the 60-year-old Washington Post columnist and writer.

The US president had previously said there would be “severe punishment” for whoever was found to be behind the disappearance of the Saudi writer, who in recent months had left kingdom for the US and who had become increasingly critical of Mohammad Bin Salman, the youthful Crown Prince who has styled himself as a moderniser and assiduously courted US leaders in the world’s of technology, business and the media.

How far Mr Trump is prepared to go in punishing a nation the US sees a crucial regional ally and which is the world’s largest producer of crude oil, is unclear.

Asked last week whether he was prepared to back a series of sanctions proposed by a bipartisan group of senators, he responded: “It depends on what the sanctions are. Let me give you an example. They are ordering military equipment. Everybody in the world wanted that order. Russia wanted it, China wanted it, we wanted it. We got it and we got all of it, every bit of it.”

He added: “I tell you what I don’t want to do. Boeing, Lockheed, Raytheon, all these companies. I don’t want to hurt jobs. I don’t want to lose an order like that. And you know there are other ways of punishing, to use a word that’s a pretty harsh word, but it’s true.”

Mr Trump’s remarks, made as he left for Florida to see recovery efforts after Hurricane Michael, came as speculation intensified about the fate of the missing journalist.

Turkish media has reported that the journalist, once considered close to the Saudi establishment, had been killed by a 15-strong hit squad inside the consulate. Some reports suggested his body was then dismembered and carried away in bags.

The journalist’s fiancee has said she waited outside the consulate for Mr Khashoggi, while he collected documents for their upcoming wedding. When he did not emerge, she asked what had happened and was told he had left by a rear entrance. CCTV footage shows him entering the building only.

The Associated Press said any joint inspection of the Saudi facility in Turkey would be an extraordinary, and perhaps unprecedented move, as embassies and consulates under the Vienna Convention are technically foreign soil and must be protected by host nations.

It suggested Saudi Arabia may have agreed to the search in order to appease its Western allies and the international community. How much evidence would remain to be examined two weeks after Mr Khashoggi disappearance is a matter for speculation.

Critics of the unelected Saudi regime say the West has frequently overlooked human rights and other abuses in the kingdom to suit its own strategic aims. This include the Saudi-led coalition’s bombing of Yemen – which the US and UK are actively helping – that has led to a humanitarian disaster, its blockade of Qatar and the seizing and “shakedown” of dozens of Saudi Arabia’s richest and most influential people earlier this year who were detained at the Ritz Carlton in the capital, Riyadh.

Such behaviour, has been going on years, say critics. In 2005, British prime minister Tony Blair shut down an investigation into alleged corruption surrounding a major arms deal involving British firm BAE Systems and the Saudi government.

The probe by the Serious Fraud Office was called off after intensive lobbying by the British arms manufacturer and Saudi officials. Mr Blair, who is said to be currently advising the Saudi government in a £9m deal involving the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change, said to allowing the corruption investigation to continue would endanger Britain’s security.