The Acceptable Face of Islam

Traitors, enemies of the people and haters of British values were being their usual humourless selves today as a vicious religious bigot and rabid opponent of human rights prepared to entertain the Crown Prince of the head-chopping House of Saud. Though he shares with the modern Conservative Party a steadfast and unshakeable faith in hereditary privilege and flagellation, Mohammed bin Salman has been accused of funding extremism in the UK, abusing human rights in Saudi Arabia and breaching humanitarian law in Yemen; and the dead-eyed warden of HM Prison UK has doubtless put him in his place. Since Britain is selling him his weapons and training his thugs, perhaps he will agree to deploy them a bit more graciously in future. Nevertheless, it remains as yet unclear how much scolding over extremism the prince will be prepared to take from the self-appointed cash cow to the creationist gay-baiters of the DUP, or how far criticism of his human rights record will convince when it originates with the enthusiastic employer of G4S boot-boys at Yarl's Wood and elsewhere.