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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| The UK government has withdrawn from a controversial £5.9m prisons deal with Saudi Arabia, Downing Street has said. | The UK government has withdrawn from a controversial £5.9m prisons deal with Saudi Arabia, Downing Street has said.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 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. | 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. | 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. | 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, which was to provide a "training needs analysis" for Saudi prison service staff. | |
| Justice Secretary Michael Gove insisted Britain would maintain its relationship with Saudi Arabia. | |
| Answering an urgent question in the Commons, Mr Gove said: "There is security co-operation between Britain and Saudi Arabia that has, as the prime minister and others have pointed out, saved British lives in the past. | |
| "And while we would never compromise on our commitment to human rights we must also recognise that it's in the interests of the most important human right of all, the right to live in safety and security, that we should continue with necessary security co-operation with the Saudi government and with other governments." | |
| 'Shamed' | |
| The withdrawal follows reports of a cabinet rift on the issue, with Mr Gove said to have angered Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond by seeking to pull the plug. | |
| The Times says the justice secretary 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. | |
| But Mr Hammond warned that cancelling it would not be in the national interest as it would make Britain appear an untrustworthy ally, the paper reports. | |
| Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, who used his recent conference speech to call for the deal to be scrapped, said the government had been "shamed" into the move. | |
| He said: "David Cameron has been shamed into a U-turn on this terrible contract, but why on earth was it set up in the first place? | |
| "We should be sending a strong message to repressive regimes that the UK is a beacon for human rights and that this contract bid is unacceptable in the 21st Century, and would damage Britain's standing in the world." |