US treasury head withdraws from Saudi investment conference

US treasury chief Steven Mnuchin has said he will not attend a controversial investment conference in Saudi Arabia later this month, following international outrage over the suspected murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

"Just met with @realDonaldTrump and @SecPompeo and we have decided, I will not be participating in the Future Investment Initiative summit in Saudi Arabia," Mnuchin tweeted.

Mnuchin is the latest senior government official to announce they will not attend the Future Investment Initiative (FII) conference in Riyadh, a brainchild of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

On the same day that senior officials from France, the UK, and the Netherlands also announced they would not attend the summit.

This followed announcements from leading corporate and media sponsors that they were due to take part in the economic forum, dubbed "Davos in the Desert".

FII was due to platform Saudi Arabia's young de-facto ruler as an economic reformer and visionary - something that has won him plaudits on Capitol Hill.

The suspected brutal murder of Khashoggi in the consulate however - and the Mohammed bin Salman's alleged involvement in it - has seen his reputation become toxic.

A number of former champions of the young prince have turned on him including Senator Lindsey Graham who said he believed bin Salman ordered the murder of Khashoggi.