The Saudi crown prince Mohammed bin Salman has broken his silence on the death of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, calling it a "heinous crime".

Mr Khashoggi - who was a critic of the Saudi regime, including the powerful crown prince widely referred to as MBS - disappeared after entering the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.

Last week, after a series of denials, the Saudi government finally admitted the journalist was likely killed at its consulate in Turkey.

Saudi officials have continued to insist that the crown prince did not sanction the killing and had no knowledge of it, alleging it was instead a 'rogue operation'.

Speaking at an event in Riyadh, Mohammed bin Salman made his first public comments on the killing.

He told the gathered crowd: "It is a heinous crime that cannot be justified.

"Saudi Arabia is carrying out all legal [methods] to finalise the investigations, to cooperate with the Turkish government, and to present the perpetrators to the court."

He suggested that some will use this 'painful thing' to attempt to drive a wedge between Turkey and Saudi Arabia.

He added: "They will not be able to do that as long as there is a king named Salman bin Abdul Aziz and a crown prince called Mohammed bin Salman in Saudi Arabia and a president in Turkey called Erdogan."

Meanwhile, President Donald Trump has been asked about any potential involvement of MBS in the killing of Mr Khashoggi.

He told the Wall Street Journal: "Well, the prince is running things over there more so at this stage.

"He's running things and so if anybody were going to be, it would be him."

On the subject of the Saudi denials, he added: "I want to believe them. I really want to believe them."

Separately, the US yesterday announced 'penalties' against a number of Saudi officials it suspects to have been involved in Mr Khashoggi's death.