RECENTLY declassified documents have revealed that John Major hailed repressive laws introduced by the Sultan of Oman in the 1990s amid efforts to secure energy contracts in the region. 

Sultan Qaboos bin Said al-Said, who died last year, ruled Oman from 1970 after deposing his father in a coup led by British troops.

The two countries have maintained a cosy relationship since. 

The extent of this relationship has been exposed further by Foreign Office documents which show that Tory ministers were delighted by the dictator’s introduction of the Basic Law in 1996, reported today by investigative site Declassified UK. 

This is despite the fact the law handed Qaboos absolute power, effectively banned political parties, independent media and criticism of the Sultan. 

Mr Major said that it was “clearly a most imaginative and constructive step forward” and assured Qaboos that Britain’s “commitment to Oman is unwavering.” 

The 1996 Basic Statute stipulates that the system of governance in the country is a hereditary Sultanate in the male line of Qaboos’s family.

Ministers believed that it brought stability to the country at a time when investors were worried about Oman’s future. 

Discussions over the legislation took place amid efforts by the British government to ensure energy and arms firms won contracts in Oman, the newly declassified files show. 

Mr Major had urged the Sultan in a letter to upgrade his fleet of British-made war planes, while oil giant BP won a contract to build a petrochemicals plant in the state thanks to gentle persuasion from the former PM.  

The documents reveal that one of the reasons British firms were able to secure contracts in the state was because Qaboos was a known Anglophile who was “distinctly unimpressed by … US arrogance.”

He would invite British diplomats and politicians for a “long weekend” on New Year’s Eve, according to former Tory MP Jonathan Aitken.

Speaking to Declassified UK, Mr Aitken said of the parties: “I’m not sure we ever did anything very exciting, but we certainly enlarged the area of confidence in which conversations could take place with the head of state.”

The Foreign Office was approached for comment.