Robert Lacey joined Frank Gardner on the BBC’s Today Programme on 16 October to discuss the disappearance and apparent murder of Saudi journalist and Robert’s friend Jamal Khashoggi.
Robert said he had last met Jamal three months ago in London where he was talking about his plan to marry again and settle down.
There was no indication at this point that Jamal was a “marked man”, but Robert said Mr Khashoggi’s murder will have undoubtably been signed off from the top.
Robert explained:
Jamal had been right at the heart of the establishment for many years – an insider – who had turned against the way in which Mohammed bin Salman is changing the nature of Saudi Arabia.
Listen to the full interview on the BBC (starts from 2hr 10 minutes): BBC Today Programme