UK's Johnson sets off for MEast overshadowed by Saudi row

UK Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson embarked on a tour of the Middle East on Friday overshadowed by critical comments he made about the Saudi Arabian regime.

Having been slapped down by the prime minister's office, Johnson was placed under further pressure when a Conservative Party grandee suggested he could be moved to another Cabinet post.

Johnson was recorded at an event in Rome saying the Saudis were detablising the region by engaging in proxy wars. Britain has a close economic relationship with the regime built largely on sales of military hardware.

"There are politicians who are twisting and abusing religion and different strains of the same religion in order to further their own political objectives,” he was heard to say in footage of the event released by the Guardian.

"That's one of the biggest political problems in the whole region. And the tragedy for me - and that's why you have these proxy wars being fought the whole time in that area - is that there is not strong enough leadership in the countries themselves."

Johnson was swiftly rebuked by Prime Minister Theresa May's spokesperson who said the Foreign Secretary's views did not represent the government's position.

He is to deliver a keynote speech at a major regional conference in Bahrain on Friday before heading to Saudi Arabia on Sunday.

May's spokesperson said the prime minister had "full confidence" in Johnson but that his comments at a conference in Italy were his own personal view, but, in a clear warning to her fellow Tory, also stated that he would be able to set out official policy when he meets Saudi counterparts.

However, former Conservative Foreign Secretary Malcolm Rifkind said the jury was out on Johnson's future in the role and suggested that if he continued to offer personal views at odds with government policy "inevitably the prime minister would say - look is his role adding to the benefits for the United Kingdom".

"He might end up being more comfortable in another senior cabinet position," Rifkind said.