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Saudis admit that Jamal Khashoggi was killed in fight at consulate

Saudi Arabia has admitted that its operatives had killed Jamal Khashoggi, the missing journalist, and announced a string of arrests but insisted that Mohammed bin Salman, the crown prince, had no involvement. 

After two weeks of blanket denials, Saudi Arabia changed course and said that Mr Khashoggi died during a fist fight inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on October 2.   

The kingdom said 15 members of an intelligence squad who flew to Istanbul to kidnap Mr Khashoggi had been arrested, along with three Saudi consulate staff.  

General Ahmed al-Assiri, the deputy head of Saudi intelligence, and Saud al-Qahtani, a close aide to Crown Prince Mohammed, were both dismissed for their role in the operation. Saudi officials insisted the crown prince was innocent of any involvement. 

King Salman announced that Crown Prince Mohammed would lead a project to restructure the kingdom’s intelligence services - an apparent sign that the heir to the throne is in no immediate danger of being removed. 

Donald Trump, the US president, said he found the Saudi explanation credible. “I think it’s a very important first step and it happened sooner than people thought it would happen.”

However, members of Congress from both parties said they did not believe the Saudi narrative. 

“To say that I am skeptical of the new Saudi narrative about Mr. Khashoggi is an understatement,” said Lindsey Graham, a powerful Republican senator. 

Adam Schiff, the top Democrat on the House intelligence committee, said the explanation “is not at all credible”. 

The Saudi government has been under days of intense pressure to explain what happened to the dissident journalist after he entered the consulate more than two weeks ago.

Turkish government sources alleged the Washington Post columnist was tortured, murdered and his body dismembered by a Saudi hit squad flown in from Riyadh. There was no immediate reaction from Turkey to the Saudi narrative, which contradicts explanations given by Turkish officials.

However, Saudi officials initially insisted that Khashoggi had left the consulate before reports surfaced. Then reports surfaced that the kingdom was preparing to suggest the journalist died after an interrogation or rendition effort spiralled out of control - an explanation that would insulate the crown prince from responsibility for the journalist’s death.

Antonio Guterres, UN secretary-general, is "deeply troubled" by the admission, said a spokesman.

The UN chief called for a "prompt, thorough, transparent" probe into the circumstances of Khashoggi’s death and urged full accountability for those who were involved.

One of the dismissed figures, Al-Assiri was reputedly one of the crown prince’s favourite generals. According to reports in Saudi Arabia, he at some point attended Sandhurst military academy in the UK. He gained a high profile as a spokesman for the Saudi-led military intervention in Yemen.

As well as the dismissal of key security officials, on Friday night King Salman ordered the restructuring of the command of the general intelligence agency under the supervision of the crown prince. 

The official Saudi press agency added the order also included updating regulations, determining the agency’s powers, and evaluating its methods and procedures.

The moves suggest an effort to limit damage the diplomatic fall-out.

The alleged killing has sent shockwaves through the world, dwarfing outrage over the kingdom’s recent arrest of women’s rights activists and its involvement in the deaths of civilians in the war in Yemen.

In the past few days, foreign diplomats have suspended scheduled visits to the kingdom and more than two dozen senior officials and executives from the US and Europe have cancelled plans to attend the Future Investment Initiative, dubbed the “Davos of the Desert”.

The announcement that Khashoggi was killed at the consulate will heap more pressure on Britain to act against Saudi Arabia.

Jeremy Hunt had earlier warned there would be "consequences" for the UK’s relationship with Saudi Arabia if it was found the journalist was murdered.

The Foreign Secretary said the Government remained "extremely concerned" about his fate after he went missing when he visited the consulate more than two weeks ago to get paperwork so he could marry.

His warning came as former MI6 chief Sir John Sawers said "all the evidence" suggested that Mr Khashoggi had been murdered on the orders of someone close to the crown prince.