London, Oct 10 (UNI) A day after Turkey's challenge to prove that the missing journalist has left Saudi consulate in Istanbul, now the Britain too challenged and expects urgent answers over the disappearance of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
'Just met the Saudi ambassador to seek urgent answers over Jamal Khashoggi. Violence against journalists worldwide is going up & is a grave threat to freedom of expression. If media reports prove correct, we will treat the incident seriously - friendships depend on shared values', UK's foreign secretary tweeted.
Mr Khashoggi was last seen visiting the Saudi consulate in Istanbul last week, and Turkey says he may have been murdered there.
However, Saudi Arabia has denied the suggestion.
Taking a tougher line than the Trump administration, a spokesperson for the UK's Foreign Office said, if media reports surrounding the case were correct, the UK would treat the incident "very seriously', a report in BBC News said.
Earlier today, US President Donald Trump said he had not yet spoken to Saudi officials about the journalist's disappearance.
"I have not. But I will be at some point," he told reporters. "I know nothing right now. I know what everybody else knows - nothing."
Meanwhile, Turkey has said that it will conduct a search of Saudi Arabia's consulate in Istanbul.
Saudi Arabia's foreign ministry said the country was "open to co-operation" and a search of the building could go ahead as part of the investigation.
They also said that the journalist left the consulate shortly after arriving, while Turkey believes that he was not seen leaving the building.
Turkey has also demanded Saudi Arabia to prove that he left.
Mr Khashoggi was living in self-imposed exile in the US and writing opinion pieces for the Washington Post before his disappearance.
A former editor of the al-Watan newspaper and a short-lived Saudi TV news channel, he was for years seen as close to the Saudi royal family. He served as an adviser to senior Saudi officials.
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