If I had not been blacklisted by the @DefenceHQ press office, these are the questions I would be asking Defence Secretary @BWallaceMP about his arms sales trip to Oman this week...

1. The 2019 Conservative Manifesto championed Britain's "alliances with like-minded democracies". A month after winning, you went to Oman to welcome the country's new dictator. Now you are going there again. Why the frequent trips to a dictatorship?

2. In Oman, it is a criminal offence to insult the Sultan. The punishment is between 3 to 7 years in prison. Do you think the UK should have the same law for e.g. comedians who make fun of Boris Johnson?

Since you last visited Oman in January, how many political activists have been arrested, questioned or threatened by Oman's secret police? Where is Ghazi Al-Awlaki and why is he being held? https://gc4hr.org/news/view/2456 

What are the rules of engagement for the 91 British troops "on loan" to Oman, and are they allowed to take part in internal security operations? https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2020-07-20-revealed-how-the-british-military-supplies-mercenary-forces-to-a-gulf-dictatorship/

And lastly, why has your defence advisor on Oman, Lord Astor, described his godfather's collective punishment of rebellious villages in Jebel Akhdar as a “truly remarkable military operation”. Were those not war crimes?