UN experts demand US inquiry into Jeff Bezos Saudi hacking claims

'Grave concern' expressed at evidence of possible 'effort to silence Washington Post'

• Amazon boss's phone 'hacked by Saudi crown prince'
• The Saudi heir and the alleged plot to undermine Bezos

UN experts are demanding an immediate investigation by the US into evidence indicating that Jeff Bezos, the billionaire owner of the Washington Post, was hacked with spyware deployed in a WhatsApp message sent from the personal account of Saudi Arabia's crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman.

The special rapporteurs - Agnis Callamard and David Kaye - said in a joint statement they were "gravely concerned" by evidence they had reviewed about the apparent surveillance of Bezos in what they described as a possible "effort to influence, if not silence, the Washington Post's reporting on Saudi Arabia".