--- description: Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May broached the subject of human rights in a meeting with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman title: Theresa May Discusses Human Rights With Saudi Crown Prince image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt629d6be91eedb926/69892a19ab6d777c966b2033/gettyimages-928612216.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [United Kingdom](/tag/united-kingdom/) ## United Kingdom Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Theresa May Discusses Human Rights With Saudi Crown Prince as He Arrives to Protests in the U.K. by [Joseph Hincks](/author/joseph-hincks/) ## Joseph Hincks Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Mar 8, 2018 7:59 AM CUT  Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman meets with British Prime Minister Theresa May at 10 Downing Street in London as the Saudi royal makes his first official visit to Britain on March 07, 2018. Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman meets with British Prime Minister Theresa May at 10 Downing Street in London as the Saudi royal makes his first official visit to Britain on March 07, 2018.Barcroft MediaBarcroft Media/Getty Images by [Joseph Hincks](/author/joseph-hincks/) ## Joseph Hincks Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Mar 8, 2018 7:59 AM CUT Britain’s Prime Minister Theresa May [broached the subject of human rights](http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-43308416 "undefined") in a meeting with [Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman](http://time.com/5068500/how-saudi-crown-prince-mohammed-bin-salman-upending-old-orde/ "undefined") Wednesday, amid domestic scrutiny over the U.K’s backing of a Saudi-led coalition battling rebels in Yemen. Prince Mohammed is on a three-day visit to Britain, during which the two countries hope to hash out up to £65billion ($90billion) in trade and investment deals, the BBC reports. He has already lunched with Queen Elizabeth II. But the visit has also sparked protests and a heavy [police presence](https://www.reuters.com/article/us-britain-saudi/uks-may-defends-saudi-ties-as-crown-prince-gets-royal-welcome-in-london-idUSKCN1GI2ZQ "undefined") around parliament, according to Reuters. In a [statement](https://www.gov.uk/government/news/pm-meeting-with-the-crown-prince-of-saudi-arabia-7-march-2018 "undefined") issued Wednesday, a Downing Street spokesperson said that during their meeting May “welcomed” recent reforms in Saudi Arabia, “including on women attending sporting events and the cinema, and being legally able to drive from June.” The Prime Minister and Crown Prince had agreed to work together to intensify reforms, “particularly on women’s rights and on universal human rights,” the spokesperson said. **Read more:** [_Women in Saudi Arabia Can Finally Attend Live Soccer Matches for the First Time_](http://time.com/5100265/saudi-arabia-women-soccer-matches/ "undefined") May also reportedly stressed the need for a political solution to the war in Yemen and urged Saudi Arabia to allow unfettered humanitarian and commercial access. Bin Salman, who last year instigated a corruption [purge](http://time.com/5068500/how-saudi-crown-prince-mohammed-bin-salman-upending-old-orde/ "undefined") of his country’s elites, is the public face of the Kingdom’s bid to diversify its almost entirely oil dependent economy. He has been credited with easing some [restrictions](http://time.com/4958442/saudi-arabia-women-to-drive-movement-cars/ "undefined") on women’s rights and has said that he wants to return Saudi Arabia to a more [“moderate Islam.”](http://time.com/4996355/saudi-arabia-crown-prince-moderate-islam/ "undefined") However, as defense minister, the Crown Prince spearheads the war in Yemen, where the U.N. said the lives of millions are at risk from famine, and more half of the 9,000 people who have been killed are civilians. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5190738/mohammed-bin-salman-theresa-may/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5190738/mohammed-bin-salman-theresa-may/"},"headline":"Theresa May Discusses Human Rights With Saudi Crown Prince as He Arrives to Protests in the U.K.","datePublished":"2018-03-08T07:59:06.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T19:34:22.416Z","description":"She urged Saudi Arabia to allow unfettered access for humanitarian aid to Yemen","url":"https://time.com/5190738/mohammed-bin-salman-theresa-may/","keywords":["United Kingdom","onetime","overnight"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt629d6be91eedb926/69892a19ab6d777c966b2033/gettyimages-928612216.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Joseph Hincks","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/joseph-hincks/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt629d6be91eedb926/69892a19ab6d777c966b2033/gettyimages-928612216.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Mohammad Bin Salman Visits Theresa May At Downing Street","caption":"Mohammad Bin Salman Visits Theresa May At Downing Street","creditText":"Barcroft MediaBarcroft Media/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/united-kingdom/","name":"United Kingdom"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/5190738/mohammed-bin-salman-theresa-may/","name":"Theresa May Discusses Human Rights With Saudi Crown Prince as He Arrives to Protests in the U.K."}}]}] ```