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UK pulls out of £5.9m Saudi jail deal | UK pulls out of £5.9m Saudi jail deal |
(35 minutes later) | |
The UK government has withdrawn from a controversial £5.9m prisons deal with Saudi Arabia, Downing Street has said. | The UK government has withdrawn from a controversial £5.9m prisons deal with Saudi Arabia, Downing Street has said. |
The PM's official spokeswoman said it reflected the government's decision to focus on domestic priorities. | |
The Ministry of Justice had established it could withdraw from the bid process with no financial penalties, she said. | The Ministry of Justice had established it could withdraw from the bid process with no financial penalties, she said. |
It comes as Britain seeks the release of UK pensioner Karl Andree, who is facing 360 lashes after being caught with homemade wine in Saudi Arabia. | |
The 74-year-old, who has lived in the Middle East for 25 years, has already spent more than a year in prison since being arrested by Saudi religious police. | |
Downing Street said Prime Minister David Cameron was personally intervening in the "extremely concerning" case of Mr Andree, by writing to the Saudi government. | |
But Number 10 stressed this was a separate issue from the prisons deal. | |
The prisons contract was to provide a "training needs analysis" for Saudi prison service staff. | |
The withdrawal follows reports of a cabinet rift on the issue, with Justice Secretary Michael Gove said to have angered Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond by seeking to pull the plug. | |
The Times says Mr Gove wanted to pull out of the deal, saying the government should not be assisting a regime that uses beheadings, stoning, crucifixions and lashings to punish its citizens. |