Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has been invited to visit the UK, a government source has said.

No 10 said they would confirm the prime minister’s engagements in the usual way, with nothing in the diary yet.

But a separate government source said there was no reason to think the visit would not happen.

It would be the first visit since the murder of the journalist Jamal Khashoggi at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul in 2018.

The invitation was first reported by the Times newspaper.

The murder of Mr Khashoggi, a critic of Saudi Arabia’s government, was condemned by the West at the time.

US intelligence agencies concluded that the prince must have authorised the killing, despite him denying any involvement.

BBC security correspondent Frank Gardner said the Saudis were already making plans for a visit at least a month ago.

He said the visit was probably going to be in October, although there is no date in the diary yet.

UK ministers have indicated a desire for closer ties with the kingdom in recent months. The nation has opened an office in London for its trillion pound investment fund to diversity its economy away from oil.

Earlier this year, Energy Security Secretary Grant Shapps held talks with Saudi Arabia over collaborating more in sectors like space, tech, and critical minerals.

The government has also been exploring support for a trade deal with the Gulf Cooperation Council. Foreign Secretary James Cleverly recently travelled to Qatar, Kuwait and Jordan.

The then-Prime Minister Boris Johnson met the crown prince in the Saudi capital of Riyadh last year, as part of talks with Gulf leaders about ending reliance on Russian oil and gas.

However, he turned down an invite to the Queen’s funeral in September, with another senior Saudi royal attending in his place.

He last visited the UK in March 2018, when Theresa May was prime minister, six month before the murder of Mr Khashoggi. During the visit he had lunch with the Queen and dinner with the then-Prince of Wales and Duke of Cambridge.

The prince, who is the de facto ruler of the world’s leading oil exporter, won plaudits from Western leaders for overseeing some reforms in the conservative Gulf kingdom, including lifting the ban on women driving.

However, his international reputation was severely damaged by the killing of Mr Khashoggi.