Liam Fox and US treasury secretary pull out of 'Davos in the Desert' summit in Saudi Arabia over Jamal Khashoggi allegations

Saudi Arabia’s plans for its “Davos in the Desert” summit were in tatters on Thursday after Liam Fox, the international trade secretary, and Steve Mnuchin, the US treasury secretary, both pulled out amid allegations the kingdom murdered Jamal Khashoggi, the missing journalist. 

Dr Fox and Mr Mnuchin were among the last Western officials still potentially going to next week’s summit but both announced on Thursday they would not attend. Hours earlier, the Dutch and French finance ministers also pulled out. 

The summit, known formally as the Future Investment Initiative, was the brainchild of Mohammed bin Salman, the Saudi crown prince now at the centre of an international storm after allegations he ordered Mr Khashoggi’s murder. 

Leading business figures and media groups are also boycotting the summit along with Christine Lagarde, the head of the International Monetary Fund (IMF). 

The UK and US pulled out of the summit as Donald Trump acknowledged it "certainly looks" as though Mr Khashoggi is dead, and he threatened "very severe" consequences if the Saudis were found to have murdered him.

Asked if the journalist was dead, he said: "It certainly looks that way. ... Very sad." He did not say on what he based his latest statement about the writer's likely demise.

Asked what consequence Saudi leaders would face if they are found to be responsible, he replied: "It will have to be very severe. It's bad, bad stuff. But we'll see what happens."

Mike Pompeo, the US secretary of state, said Saudi Arabia should be given “a few more days” to provide an explanation for what happened to Mr Khashoggi, who disappeared October 2. 

Mr Pompeo raised doubt about the strength of any US response by saying the Trump administration has not yet decided “how or if” to act and stressing America’s deep ties with Saudi Arabia.

“They are an important strategic alliance to the United States,” he said. He refused to say if he knew whether Mr Khashoggi was alive or dead. 

Turkish officials say a team of 15 Saudi operatives murdered Mr Khashoggi and dismembered his body inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul. 

They claim to have graphic audio tape, which captures one Saudi operative urging others to listen to music as they carved up Mr Khashoggi’s body with a bone saw. One Turkish report said the Saudis cut off Mr Khashoggi’s fingers before beheading him.

Turkey has not shared the audio tape with the US but American officials have requested it, Donald Trump said. 

Saudi Arabia has vehemently denied responsibility although some reports indicate the Saudi royal family is preparing to blame intelligence officials for the killing in an effort to protect Crown Prince Mohammed.

Any effort to claim the crown prince was unaware of the Saudi operation grew more complicated Thursday after Turkish media published CCTV footage showing that a member of his entourage was at the consulate the morning Mr Khashoggi vanished. 

The footage showed Maher Mutreb, a Saudi intelligence officer who once worked at the Saudi embassy in London, arriving at the consulate several hours before Mr Khashoggi. Mr Mutreb has been photographed with the crown prince on several recent international visits. 

A spokesman for Dr Fox said the cabinet minister had decided “the time is not right for him to attend” the Riyadh summit.

“The UK remains very concerned about Jamal Khashoggi’s disappearance.

“We encourage Turkish-Saudi collaboration and look forward to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia conducting a thorough, credible, transparent, and prompt investigation, as announced. Those bearing responsibility for his disappearance must be held to account,” the spokesman said. 

Mr Mnuchin said he decided not to attend after meeting with Mr Trump and Mr Pompeo at the White House. “I will not be participating in the Future Investment Initiative summit in Saudi Arabia,” he said on Twitter. 

Bob Corker, a Republican senator who chairs of the foreign relations committee, said the White House had “clamped down” and was not sharing intelligence about the fate of Mr Khashoggi. 

“I can only surmise that probably the intel is not painting a pretty picture as it relates to Saudi Arabia,” Mr Corker said.

The Washington Post also published Mr Khashoggi’s final column, where he wrote that “Arab governments have been given free rein to continue silencing the media at an increasing rate," in a piece that apparently foreshadowed his own fate.

In a note published with the column, Karen Attiah, global opinions editor at The Washington Post, said the piece captured Mr Khashoggi’s commitment to freedom in the Arab world: "A freedom he apparently gave his life for."

She said she received it from his assistant a day after he disappeared. 

“The Post held off publishing it because we hoped Jamal would come back to us so that he and I could edit it together,” she wrote. “Now I have to accept: That is not going to happen. This is the last piece of his I will edit for The Post.”