Saudi Arabia appoints former British minister as financial advisor

RIYADH, July 14 (YPA) – The Saudi government has appointed a British national as advisor, according to the “Spectator” magazine that published the news on Tuesday.

“Philip Hammond, the former British treasury minister, has become a Saudi consultant,” the magazine said.

According to the magazine, the work to be undertaken by Hammond will be paid as a consultant to the Ministry of Finance in the Kingdom, at a time it is preparing to receive the 20G summit in November.

The magazine commented on this decision that “Hammond suffers from disease ideology”, and that he does not care about any problems in working with a government that persecutes dissidents and violates human rights in various ways.

Hammond has had strong ties with Saudi Arabia for several years. In 2015, when he was a foreign minister, he was denounced after accepting a watch worth 2000 pounds from a Saudi businessman, despite government officials being prevented from accepting gifts.

“Saudi Arabia currently has the presidency of the Group of Twenty, and he is advising it in this context,” a spokesman for Hammond said.

YPA