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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The UK government has withdrawn from a controversial £5.9m prisons deal with Saudi Arabia, Downing Street has said.The UK government has withdrawn from a controversial £5.9m prisons deal with Saudi Arabia, Downing Street has said.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 prime minister's official spokeswoman said it reflected the government's decision to focus on domestic priorities. 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.
The government submitted an initial bid to provide a "training needs analysis" for Saudi prison service staff in 2014. 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.