Tatters of principle
Saudi washing , Issue 1660

"SAUDI Arabia has one of the worst records for human rights in the world," stormed a piece in the Daily Mail at the end of September, railing against how "the likes of Jimmy Carr and Jack Whitehall are pocketing huge sums to appear at a comedy festival" in the country.

"The Saudi government sanctioned the murder of dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi in 2018," pointed out TV reviewer Christopher Stevens. "How can anyone whose livelihood depends on free speech justify performing at the Crown Prince's command?"

He might want to have a word with colleagues elsewhere in Mail Towers.

Show and tell
DMG Events, a sister branch of the Rothermere empire, currently lists no fewer than 30 events in Saudi Arabia, making the country by far its most common location. All have catchy names like "the Saudi Wood show" and "the Saudi Paper & Packaging Expo".

And as recently as February, overpaid Mail columnist Boris Johnson was the star speaker at the Saudi Media Forum (Eye 1644), where he avoided the topic of Khashoggi entirely and instead heaped incoherent praise on Saudi crown prince Mohammed bin Salman: "As Winston Churchill said, courage is the most important virtue, and I think this country is lucky in having a leader with courage."

Times change
Elsewhere, the Times printed a sniffy feature headlined "Why Britain's top comedians are headlining a festival in Saudi Arabia", in which theatre and comedy critic Dominic Maxwell wrote of the kingdom: "Whatever Saudi Arabia's virtues, the land of the free it palpably is not."

The paper also published a news story that read: "Top comedians accused of 'whitewashing' Saudi Arabia regime for money."

Strange, then, to see Times editor Tony Gallagher billed as a key speaker at the next edition of the Saudi Media Forum in February 2026.

Oh my, Omid!
Meanwhile, one of the comics criticised for appearing at the Riyadh comedy festival, Omid Djalili, took to the pages of the Guardian to defend himself from charges of allowing himself to become a mouthpiece for the Saudi regime.

It was not the most convincing argument.

"As an international performer I like to connect with local artistes," Djalili sniffed. "As a Middle Eastern comedian I am of the view that a blanket boycott tends to dismiss and patronise ordinary Saudis, often those eager for exposure to diverse culture. There's a saying in the Middle East: 'It's not about what you hear, it's about being here'."

And indeed, that is a saying in the Middle East. Specifically, it is the slogan of a recently launched campaign by, er, the Saudi government's Tourism Development Fund.

More top stories in the latest issue:

THE PRINCE AND THE PAEDO
Another Daphne Barak "exclusive" in both the Mail on Sunday and Sun on Sunday will have reignited concerns on the Sun newsdesk about a mole.

REACH-ING CRISIS POINT
The deadline approaches at Reach plc for the Express to be shunted together with the Mirror, with 321 editorial roles to be lost across the company.

PAYING DISRESPECTS
Hacks at Rupert Murdoch's News Corp have been told that most of them will have to work a full seven weeks without being paid next year.

MEET & GRATE
The Sun has been hammering Keir Starmer – and the PM's meetings with editor Victoria Newton and later her boss Lachlan Murdoch did not stem the tide.

HOW TO END IT?
The curse of the FT's "How To Spend It" magazine has struck for a third time in six weeks, upon primatologist Jane Goodall.

BEGGARS BELIEF
The Guardian's advertising head has criticised "ad stuffing" by rivals, who "interrupt and frustrate people" – but what of its own intrusive begging pleas?

URBAN MYTHS
The papers reacted to the news that Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban were divorcing by giving the couple all the respectful privacy they deserved...

HATCHET OF LIMITATION
The Daily Mail devoted a page to the latest hearing in the case Prince Harry and others are bringing against it – written by a reporter named in the legal papers.