'Saudi oil will boost living standards': Rees-Mogg defends PM's controversial visit

15 March 2022, 18:40 | Updated: 15 March 2022, 19:34

Jacob Rees-Mogg has defended the Prime Minister's decision to visit Saudi Arabia
Jacob Rees-Mogg has defended the Prime Minister's decision to visit Saudi Arabia. Picture: Alamy/LBC

By Megan Hinton

Jacob Rees-Mogg has defended the Prime Minister's decision to visit Saudi Arabia, stressing the UK needs to move away from Russian oil and gas.

Listen to this article

Loading audio...

Speaking on Tonight with Andrew Marr, the Minister of State for Brexit Opportunities said the controversial trip will have an effect on living standards in the UK as oil companies warn the price of fuel is creeping up to £3 per litre

Jacob Rees-Mogg told Andrew Marr: "Saudi Arabia sits on very large reserves that will have an effect through the oil price on the living standards of people not just in this country but globally."

The trip comes just days after Saudi Arabia executed 81 people and with Saudi Arabia still the subject of international outrage following the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi at the kingdom's consulate in Istanbul in 2018.

But the MP pointed out that the UK has working relationships with countries across the globe who impose the death penalty including the US and China but said the UK Government is against the form of punishment.

Adding: "We have to deal with the world the way it is, not the way we would like it to be."

Simpler laws Watch Tonight with Andrew Marr exclusively on Global Player every Monday to Thursday from 6pm to 7pm.

Rees-Mogg defends PM's trip to Saudi Arabia

Speaking to Parliament's Treasury Committee yesterday, Dr Amrita Sen, director of research at Energy Aspects, warned petrol prices could rise to around £2.40 a litre and diesel prices of '£2.50 - even closer to £3' were 'definitely in the realms of possibility'.

Figures from data firm Experian Catalist show the average cost of a litre of petrol at UK forecourts on Monday was 163.7p.

This takes the cost of filling a typical 55-litre family car with petrol above £90 for the first time.

With the average cost of a litre of diesel on Monday was a record 173.7p as oil prices surged after Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Read more: Hospital siege could be 'SS tactics' on another day of horror and hope in Ukraine

Read more: Russian forces take 400 patients and doctors hostage at Mariupol hospital

Yvette Cooper: 'Departmental failure to plan' for Ukraine crisis

But Boris Johnson has defended his controversial visit to Saudi Arabia by stressing the need for countries to move away from Russian oil and gas.

The Prime Minister is due to meet Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on Wednesday in the hope the Gulf state can increase its production of fuel supplies to make up for reduced reliance on Vladimir Putin's country.

Mr Johnson insisted he had to build a coalition of countries to help the West reduce its dependence on Mr Putin, likening the Russian leader to a drug dealer who had got the West hooked on his hydrocarbons.

You can also listen to the podcast Tonight with Andrew Marr only on Global Player.

Should we be buying oil from Saudi Arabia?

The Prime Minister said: "I think that we've got a global crisis in which its obvious that the Russian aggression in Ukraine has helped to trigger a spike in the price of hydrocarbons, a spike in the price of oil.

"It's vital - if we are going to stand up to (Vladimir) Putin's bullying, if we are going to avoid being blackmailed by Putin in the way that so many western countries sadly have been, we have got to get ourselves off Russian hydrocarbons."

That meant "we need to talk to other producers around the world about how we can move away form that dependency".

Pressed on whether the shift away from Russia meant dealing with other unpleasant regimes, Mr Johnson said: "We want to build the widest possible coalition to ensure that we focus on what is happening in Ukraine, the effect that is having on the price of oil and gas."

He said the West had to "learn our lesson" by breaking away from its links to Russia.

"Listen to what all the other European countries are now saying.

Read more: Outrage as UK Court blocks same-sex marriage for Bermuda and Cayman islands

Read more: Cameraman killed and Brit reporter in intensive care after Russians open fire near Kyiv

Jacob Rees-Mogg reveals he doesn't own a pair of jeans

"Three weeks ago, they wouldn't have said that was possible. A month ago before the invasion, everybody was saying, 'Oh, no, we'll get we'll never be able to do it'.

"Now, after what Putin has done in Ukraine, you're seeing European colleagues step up to the plate and say 'Right, this is the time we got to learn our lesson as the West, we've got to end that dependency on Russian hydrocarbons'.

"And that's one of the reasons I'm going out to the Gulf." Foreign Office Minister James Cleverly said that due to the need to move from Russia, the Prime Minister had to hold the talks this week, despite concerns over human rights abuses and the use of the death penalty.

"The UK's position on the death penalty is long-standing and principled - we oppose the death penalty on principle, we have communicated that to Saudi Arabia," he told Times Radio.

Mr Cleverly said the UK is also urging China to condemn Russian President Vladimir Putin's actions.

US officials believed China has signalled to Russia that it would be willing to provide military support for the campaign in Ukraine and financial backing to help stave off the impact of severe sanctions imposed by the West.

Read more: Locked-down Kyiv: Klitschko orders curfew from 6pm after Russians renew assault on capital

Read more: Russian state TV editor fined £200 after staging anti-war protest

Sajid Javid: It's possible to have a relationship with the Saudis

Mr Cleverly told Sky News: "What we're saying to all countries is that they should denounce this unprovoked illegal attack into Ukraine by Russia.

"They should not in any way be supporting Russia, and we urge countries to join the UK and the international community in condemning and sanctioning Russia to choke off the finances which are funding Putin's war effort.

"There is no justification at all for this attack, and we urge China and all countries around the world to denounce it and absolutely not to support it."

Mr Cleverly said the UK has not had any statements from China denouncing the invasion. Shadow levelling up secretary Lisa Nandy said that if China wants to be a "global player", it "needs to play its part in making the world safer".

"It needs to stand up to Russian aggression," she told Sky News.

More Latest News

See more More Latest News

2020 Vanity Fair Oscar Party Hosted By Radhika Jones - Roaming Arrivals

Calls for Kanye West to be removed from X after 'antisemitic rampage' online

Netlifx has hiked its subscription prices without adverts by £2, or 18%, to £12.99 a month for British users.

Netflix hikes prices for Brits after hitting record subscription figures

EL SALVADOR-RELIGION-WELBY

Justin Welby to live at Lambeth Palace despite quitting as archbishop after damning report into Church safeguarding failures

Retired PC Tim Bradshaw (left) and Andrew Newman, deputy chair of Sussex Police Federation, outside Portsmouth Crown Court

Retired police officer found not guilty after knocking two men off electric motorbike in order to 'protect life'

Detective Sergeant Richard Mills, aged 42, of Rochdale was sentenced to 18 months in prison at Liverpool Crown Court

Police detective jailed for 18 months after two sexual assaults on colleagues in workplace

A music teacher who appeared on a hit Channel 4 show has been accused of sexual assault and making indecent images of children.

Music teacher who appeared in hit Channel 4 show charged with making indecent images of children

Exclusive
A former prisoner who was pregnant while behind bars has called for childbearing women to get more support from the justice system.

‘I cried myself to sleep, covered in blood’: Former prisoner who was pregnant while jailed calls for justice system overhaul

Six-month old Sophia Kelemen was killed by a driverless car in a horror accident on January 2.

Baby girl dies in horror accident after driverless car smashes into pram on family holiday

Mohamed Al-Fayed's brother has denied sexual assault allegations brought forward by three former Harrods employees.

Mohamed Al Fayed's brother 'unequivocally' denies sexual assault allegations by three former Harrods employees

Kanye West, left, and Bianca Censori arrive at the 67th annual Grammy Awards on Sunday, Feb. 2, 2025, in Los Angeles. (Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP)

Kanye West declares he’s a ‘Nazi,’ ‘loves Hitler’ and that he has ‘dominion’ over Bianca Censori in vile rant

A British man found dead with his wife inside their isolated French villa

British couple found dead in French villa named as fears former organised crime financial investigator was 'murdered'

TV chef Gino D'Acampo’s ITV shows have been pulled from schedules

Gino D’Acampo TV shows pulled from schedules amid investigation into ‘sexually inappropriate’ comments

Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner as Labour has been accused of adding unnecessary costs on consumers

Fears more costs will pass to consumers as yet more taxes from Labour announced

A second woman, suspected of using wigs to disguise herself to sit the British citizenship test for other people, has been arrested.

Second woman arrested after wearing wigs to 'fake UK citizenship tests' as immigration officers find disguises and designer bags in raid

Charlie Roberts (l) was in the care of his mum's partner Christopher Stockton (r) when he suffered the fatal injury

Stepdad who shook baby to death then tried to blame biscuit jailed for life

Grenfell Tower to be demolished, government confirms

Grenfell Tower will be demolished, government confirms