UK Cabinet ministers are visiting Saudi Arabia in a bid to bolster trade links with the kingdom amid reports that Riyadh authorised the use of lethal force to clear land for a new desert city. Deputy Prime Minister Oliver Dowden, Business Secretary Kemi Badenoch and Culture Secretary Lucy Frazer will be in the Gulf state for a two-day summit aimed at promoting economic ties. Mr Dowden will lead a 450-strong delegation of British businesses including HSBC and British Airways at the event. Downing Street defended the visit on Monday after the BBC reported claims last week that Saudi forces had been permitted to use deadly force to clear land for a £400 billion desert city being built by dozens of western companies. Villagers were reportedly evicted to make way for The Line, a 105-mile-long metropolis in the kingdom’s eco-region of Neom, with one person subsequently shot and killed for protesting, according to the broadcaster. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s official spokesman said the UK has “a vital national security and economic security relationship with Saudia Arabia” but “no aspect of that relationship prevents us from speaking frankly about human rights”. Asked by journalists whether the trip was appropriate in light of...