Saudi Arabia‘s crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, will give his first speech to an international audience since the killing of Jamal Khashoggi at the kingdom’s consulate in Turkey.
Saudi officials are now admitting the journalist was targeted and a body double was on hand to aid in a cover-up.
Two officials told the Associated Press the kingdom did send a team to Turkey which included a forensics expert and a member whose job it was to dress in the 59-year-old writer’s clothes and pretend to be him.
However, the officials still insist his death was an accident.
Prince Mohammed will speak at the Future Investment Initiative summit, dubbed “Davos in the Desert”, in Riyadh on Wednesday. On Tuesday, hackers hijacked the summit’s website and posted an image of the royal about to behead Khashoggi on its homepage.
Follow the latest updates
Saudi Arabia's claim Khashoggi died in a fight "does not amount to a credible explanation", Theresa May has said.
The prime minister said she will speak to Saudi Arabia's King Salman later on Wednesday.
She said the home secretary would take action against all suspects to prevent them from entering the UK by revoking their visas.
Spain's prime minister has said his government will fulfill past arms sales contracts with Saudi Arabia despite his "dismay" over the "terrible murder" of Khashoggi.
Pedro Sanchez told MPs that protecting jobs in southern Spain was also central to his decision last month to go ahead with a controversial shipment of bombs to Saudi Arabia.
Spain has said the $2.1bn (£1.6bn) purchase by Saudi Arabia for five navy ships was put at risk when the government pondered canceling the shipment of 400 precision bombs purchased by Riyadh in 2015.
Mr Sanchez hasn't clarified what his plans are regarding future purchases by the kingdom, a long-time commercial ally.
The prime minister said his government will also make a proposal to make Spain a "pioneer" in verification and transparency on arms exports.
On Tuesday, the website for Saudi Arabia's investment conference, dubbed "Davos in the Desert", was hacked and a picture of Khashoggi about to be beheaded by the kingdom's crown prince was placed on its homepage.
Hackers just put a disturbing image of murdered journalist Jamal Khashoggi on website for major Saudi conference
The hacked Future Investment Initiative website included a fake image depicting Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman beheading the journalistSaudi Arabia has said it will not penalise foreign banks who boycotted its investment conference amid the fallout from the killing of Khashoggi.
The governor of the kingdom's central bank said the institutions which pulled out of the conference, dubbed "Davos in the Desert", will still be able to apply for and obtain banking licenses to operate in the kingdom.
"We, at the central bank, deal in complete professional manner whether with local or international banks," Ahmed al-Kholifey told Al Arabiya TV when asked if the banks that decided not to participate in the event will be penalised.
Turkish media has released images showing two Saudi operatives connected to the murder of Khashoggi carrying what appeared to be large black cases, which could potentially contain his remains.
Saudi operatives linked to Jamal Khashoggi's murder seen carrying large cases in newly released images
Security camera images were latest in a series of media leaks by that challenge Riyadh’s account of Khashoggi’s murderTurkey's president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, gave a speech to the country's parliament yesterday in which he dismissed the official Saudi story of Khashoggi's murder. Patrick Cockburn, our Middle East correspondent, has said the president did not reveal everything his country's intelligence service knows about the killing in order to keep his leverage over Saudi Arabia.
Erdogan did not reveal Turkey's entire hand about Khashoggi killing to keep his leverage over Saudi Arabia
Analysis: The macabre affair has provided an unexpected opportunity for Ankara to recalibrate its relations with Riyadh and possibly extract concessions on a number of issuesTurkey's president has insisted he will not allow those responsible for the murder of Khashoggi to avoid justice, from those who ordered it to those who executed it.
"We are determined not to allow a cover-up of this murder and to make sure all those responsible - from those who ordered it to those who carried it out - will not be allowed to avoid justice," Recep Tayyip Erdogan said at a speech in Ankara.
He said some people had been uncomfortable with him sharing evidence regarding the investigation into the killing in his speech on Tuesday.
Russia has refused to criticise Saudi Arabia in the wake of international condemnation over the murder of Khashoggi. Moscow has sought to downplay the case and mostly refused to go beyond acknowledging official Saudi statements.
Russia refuses to criticise Saudi Arabia in wake of Jamal Khashoggi's murder
The IndependentTies between Saudi Arabia and Russia have been unaffected by the journalist's killingSaudi Arabia would not have murdered Khashoggi without American protection, Iran's president, Hassan Rouhani has said, according to the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA).
"No one would imagine that in today's world and a new century that we would witness such an organised murder and a system would plan out such a heinous murder," Mr Rouhani said.
"I don't think that a country would dare commit such a crime without the protection of America."
Iran and Saudi Arabia are regional rivals and have supported opposing sides in the conflicts in Syria and Yemen, and different political factions in Iraq and Lebanon.
US protection has allowed Saudi Arabia to carry out bombings against civilians in Yemen's war, Mr Rouhani said, according to IRNA.
"If there was no American protection, would the people of Yemen still have faced the same brutal bombing?" he asked.
Turkey's president called for the 18 suspects detained in Saudi Arabia to be tried in Turkish courts on Tuesday.
Recep Tayyip Erdogan rejected the idea that the men acted on their own.
"To blame such an incident on a handful of security and intelligence members would not satisfy us or the international community," he said in a speech in the country's parliament.
Donald Trump has said he believes Saudi Arabia's crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, likely knew about the plot to kill Khashoggi. When asked whether the ruler was involved, the US president claimed: "If anyone were going to be, it would be him."
Trump says if anyone knew about plot to kill Jamal Khashoggi 'it would be Mohammed bin Salman'
Heir to Saudi throne has repeatedly denied involvement in killing of journalist at Istanbul consulateTwo Saudi officials told the Associated Press the kingdom sent a team to Turkey, but said the men were acting on a directive issued by Saudi King Salman's predecessor, King Abdullah, to bring dissidents who had fled abroad back to the kingdom.
The officials acknowledged the plan allowed for taking Khashoggi from the consulate and questioning him at a "safe house."
When asked why such a team would include a forensics expert and a body double, the Saudi officials told the Associated Press that had the safe house option been used, the plan was for the forensic expert to wipe clean evidence Khashoggi had been at the consulate and for the body double to leave the facility to give the false impression he had left on his own.
Instead, the two officials said, the operation with Khashoggi turned violent.
They said the team included a former colleague of Khashoggi who advised him to return to the kingdom.
When that failed, the writer, by their account, asked if he was going to be kidnapped. Told he was going to be taken to a safe house, they say he started to yell for help.
That's when an unidentified person on the team applied a chokehold, which the officials said was intended only to keep Khashoggi quiet but ended up killing him instead.
The officials said the nine members of the 15-strong team who were inside the consulate at the time then panicked and made plans with a local Turkish "collaborator" to remove the body. One official said the body was rolled up in some sort of material and taken from the consulate by the collaborator.
Neither official could account for Turkey's claims Khashoggi's body was dismembered with a bone saw inside the building.
Donald Trump said Saudi Arabia's response to the killing of Khashoggi was "the worst cover-up" in history. The US has announced it would sanction Saudi officials implicated in the murder.
Trump blames Saudis for 'worst cover-up ever' over Khashoggi killing as US announces penalties against suspects
President labels affair a 'total fiasco' as secretary of state Mike Pompeo says Washington will hold those responsible to accountGood morning and welcome to the latest updates from The Independent on the killing of Jamal Khashoggi.
Saudi officials have now admitted the journalist was targeted in the kingdom's consulate in Turkey and a body double was on hand to aid in the cover-up.
The latest account attempts to distance the Saudi crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, from the killing, even though officials linked to the ruler have been implicated.
The 33-year-old ruler is expected to give his first speech to an international audience since the killing at an investment summit in Riyadh dubbed "Davos in the Desert".
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