A visit to the UK by Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah began awkwardly on Monday, as Britain rejected criticism that it had ignored Saudi intelligence that might have prevented the 2005 terrorist attacks on London.

Before his arrival for the first state visit by a Saudi monarch in 20 years, King Abdullah said Riyadh had provided information ahead of the July 7 suicide bombings on London transport. He told the BBC that most countries, including Britain, did not view terrorism seriously enough.