King Abdullah received a lavish welcome from Queen Elizabeth II at the start of a state visit, having already stirred protests and headlines with claims Britain is soft on terror.
LONDON: Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah received a lavish welcome from Queen Elizabeth II Tuesday at the start of a state visit, having already stirred protests and headlines with claims Britain is soft on terror.
The queen, alongside her husband Prince Philip and Prime Minister Gordon Brown, formally welcomed the king at Horse Guards Parade in central London, where he inspected an honour guard in bearskin hats.
The two monarchs then paraded up the Mall, festooned with giant British and Saudi flags, in an ornate gold and black carriage drawn by six white horses and bound for Buckingham Palace.
As a military band played in the background, dozens of protestors from human rights groups and anti-arms trade campaigners lined the route, carrying banners with slogans such as "You Can't Do This In Riyadh".
The queen was hosting a private lunch and evening state banquet for King Abdullah at her official London residence, where he is staying, attended by scores of dignitaries including Brown.
Overshadowing the pomp and ceremony, the visit got off to an awkward start after the king claimed Britain failed to act on intelligence from his country that could have stopped July 2005 suicide bombings in London which killed 52.
"I believe most countries are not taking this issue too seriously including, unfortunately, Great Britain," King Abdullah added in a BBC interview Monday.
His claims were denied outright by the Foreign Office and domestic security service MI5, and criticised by newspapers including The Independent, which demanded: "How dare this king give us a lecture on terrorism?"
King Abdullah's lavish visit, the first by a Saudi monarch in 20 years, has provoked anger and suspicion from politicians, protestors and the British media.
Amnesty International published a dossier to coincide with the visit highlighting the "bleak" situation in Saudi Arabia over public beheadings, torture, court-ordered floggings and violence and discrimination against women.
"Without even a show of harmony, Britain is treating its Saudi visitors to gilded carriages and a royal banquet not because of any real respect, but because of their oil wealth and strategic position," the Guardian commented.
Saudi Arabia is a key British ally in the Middle East, both politically -- over Iraq, Iran and counter-terrorism -- and commercially as a vital source of oil and with booming British exports to the kingdom worth 4.4 billion pounds (6.3 billion euros, 9.1 billion dollars) last year.
Trade links have also caused embarrassment, though.
Britain's Serious Fraud Office last year investigated alleged corruption in a 43-billion-pound arms deal with Saudi Arabia, but the probe was called off on the grounds of national interest in December.
Pressure group Campaign Against The Arms Trade held a demonstration along the route of King Abdullah's carriage journey with the queen, calling for the reopening of the arms deal investigation
After a day of ceremony Tuesday, King Abdullah will meet Brown Wednesday to discuss counter-terrorism, Iran, the Middle East peace process, Iraq and Lebanon.
A spokeswoman for Brown's Downing Street office said Monday he would "raise issues he believes to be appropriate" with the king.
"The government has, where necessary, raised concerns we have regarding human rights but equally we are recognising that there have been developments under way," she added.
King Abdullah is set to visit Italy, Germany and Turkey after leaving London Thursday.
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