Sources close to Jeremy Hunt said the Foreign Secretary met Saudi counterpart Adel bin Ahmed Al-Jubeir, expressing concerns that the regime’s explanation was “not entirely credible”.
Both Foreign Office and US State Department sources said succession talks were under way in the kingdom.
‘Betray you will same Saudi Arabia’s admission that Mr Khashoggi was killed during a fight in its Istanbul consulate was the first official confirmation that the journalist, last seen entering the building on October 2, is dead.
Details said to be in a Turkish audio recording include a conversation between Saudi consul general Mohammed Al-Otaibi and Mr Khashoggi, followed by a beating.
The recording later reveals the journalist was “drugged” and “killed” before a Saudi forensics expert told others to put on headphones and listen to music while he took seven minutes to dismember the body.
Maher Abdulaziz Mutreb, one of the crown prince’s bodyguards, is suspected of playing a key role in Mr Khashoggi’s death. But Turkey has yet to officially confirm the existence of the audio tape and a report thought to confirm gruesome details of Mr Khashoggi’s death has so far failed to materialise.
Brigadier General Mark Kimmitt, former US assistant defence secretary for the Middle East, said: “If the evidence is not convincing, then it would seem the crown prince would be able to remain in place.”
Last night it emerged that Saudi Arabia’s royal court was contemplating a potential change in the line of succession, with US secretary of state Mike Pompeo describing the crown prince as “volatile”.
Intelligence sources speaking to London-based Middle East Eye described the kingdom as being in “disarray”.
Saudi dissidents said the regime used the same tactic as Russia’s Vladimir Putin in dealing with “betrayers” last night.
One said in Washington DC: “Mohammed bin Salman is Saudi Arabia now, and when Khashoggi made apparent his opposition to him, he was seen as a traitor.
“The brutal manner of his death is a message to other Saudi loyalists: if you betray us, you will share the same fate.”
COMMENT by Thomas Tugendhat, Chairman Foreign Affaires Committee
THE RECENT murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in Istanbul is a reminder that royal families matter.
The Queen represents our country around the world and Saudi Arabia’s royal family use their country to represent its interests.
Saudi Arabia is still under the control of the royals – but in recent years, there has been a change.
The power used to lie in the hands of brothers and cousins but Mohammed bin Salman, the 33-year old crown prince, has been turning it into a one-man show.
This can only happen because King Salman, his ageing father, has given him the power to do so but the Khashoggi murder shows he cannot handle it.
As governments – including ours – pull out of an economic conference in Saudi next week, we are showing there is a cost to lawless violence.
There has to be, otherwise others will think they can do the same. We cannot allow autocracies to use embassies as murder rooms.