Britain drops Saudi prisons contract bid

(MENAFN- Gulf Times) Britain yesterday abandoned a bid to provide training to Saudi Arabia's penal system and raised the case of a 74-year-old Briton facing a flogging.
"The government has decided that it won't be proceeding with the bid," Prime Minister David Cameron's spokeswoman told reporters.
The potential contract was worth £5.9mn ($9mn).
Downing Street insisted the decision was separate from the case of the reportedly frail grandfather Karl Andree, who has been told he could face 350 lashes in public after serving a year behind bars for being caught with home-made wine.
The spokeswoman said the move was linked to the winding up of Just Solutions International, a commercial offshoot of the ministry of justice.
Justice Secretary Michael Gove told parliament yesterday that even though the bid had been dropped Britain would continue to work closely with Saudi Arabia.
"There is security co-operation between Britain and Saudi Arabia that has saved British lives in the past.
"While we would never compromise our commitment to human rights... we should continue with the necessary security co-operation with the Saudi government," Gove said.
The Downing Street spokeswoman said Andree's sentence was "extremely concerning" and Cameron was "writing today to the Saudis to further raise the case".
There has been a "gradual stepping up of government activity" on the issue, she said.