A Saudi Arabian broadcaster "stole" last week's Premier League football match between Watford and Arsenal, an MP has claimed.

Liberal Democrat former minister Alistair Carmichael (Orkney and Shetland) said a "pirate broadcaster" in Saudi Arabia has "stolen" the intellectual property (IP) of British companies, including the Premier League match at Vicarage Road.

He said more needs to be done to protect the intellectual property rights of UK businesses.

Speaking in the House of Commons, Mr Carmichael said: "A number of United Kingdom-based companies have had their intellectual property stolen by a Saudi Arabian-based pirate broadcaster BeoutQ, including last Monday's Watford against Arsenal match.

"What steps are we taking to protect the intellectual property rights of UK businesses and sports interests?"

Mr Carmichael asked whether the UK would use its trade policy to hold Saudi Arabia to account for "allowing the theft of our country's intellectual property in this way".

Trade minister George Hollingbery said he was not familiar with the case, but added that the UK would "insist" its intellectual property rules are honoured by other countries "particularly if we are to do trade deals with them".

He said: "I would be very happy to look into it more carefully, but we will continue to make representations to Saudi Arabia on this point.

"The UK regime on IP is respected around the world. We have local, we have European, and we have international commitments on that front, all of which produce one of the tightest regulatory regimes for IP worldwide and one of the most respected.

"We believe it is the right system. We will insist on others that it is honoured, particularly if we are to do trade deals with them."