UK Ditches Plan to Bid for £5.9m Saudi Arabia Prisons Contract

THE GUARDIAN: Opposition MPs laud justice secretary Michael Gove, while PM is to write to Saudis over fate of UK pensioner Karl Andree, who faces 360 lashes

Downing Street has announced that the government is to cancel a £5.9m contract to provide a training programme for prisons in Saudi Arabia.

In a significant victory for the justice secretary, Michael Gove – whose attempts to cancel the project had been resisted by David Cameron and the foreign secretary, Philip Hammond – the prime minister’s spokeswoman said the contract has been cancelled following a review.

The spokeswoman said: “This bid to provide the additional training to Saudi Arabia has been reviewed and the government has decided that it won’t be proceeding with the bid. The review has been ongoing following the decision that was announced earlier in September to close down the Just Solutions International branch of the Ministry of Justice that was providing some of these services.”

In another significant development, Downing Street also announced that the prime minister is to write to the Saudi authorities to raise his concerns about the case of Karl Andree, the 74-year-old grandfather who is due to face 360 lashes for transporting homemade wine in his car.

The No 10 spokeswoman said: “This is an extremely concerning case. We have been providing consular assistance to Mr Andree and to his family since he was first arrested. We have raised the case repeatedly in recent weeks. » | Nicholas Watt and Alan Travis | Tuesday, October 13, 2015

THE GUARDIAN: Saudi prisons contract: Gove and Hammond clash over deal: Foreign secretary accuses cabinet colleague of ‘naivety’ for seeking to withdraw from £5.9m bid to provide services to Saudi penal system » | Nadia Khomami | Tuesday, October 13, 2015

THE GUARDIAN: Michael Gove emerges as human rights hero over bid to scrap Saudi prisons deal: Fresh details of justice secretary’s cabinet battle with Philip Hammond casts him as improbable champion of human rights » | Alan Travis Home affairs editor | Tuesday, October 13, 2015

British Grandfather Karl Andree Facing 350 Lashes in Saudi Arabia for Making Wine

Pensioner Karl Andree

THE TELEGRAPH: Family of 74-year-old Briton believe the punishment will kill him as they appeal to David Cameron for help

A British grandfather is facing a punishment of 350 lashes in Saudi Arabia for making home-made wine.

Karl Andree, a 74-year-old originally from south London, was arrested in August last year when police found bottles of wine in his car.

He has already served 12 months in Jeddah's brutal Briman Prison, which has a reputation for torture and inhuman conditions.

Mr Andree, who worked as an oil executive in the country, is now facing a public flogging of 350 lashes – a punishment his family fear could kill him as he is still weak from battles with cancer.

His three children Hugh, 46, Kirsten, 45, and Simon, 33, on Monday urged David Cameron to intervene before authorities carry out the sentence.

The urgency of their appeal is increased by the fact that Mr Andree's wife, Verity, has Alzheimer's and is dying. » | Barney Henderson | Tuesday, October 13, 2015


THE SUN: Brit, 74, faces 350 lashes: EXCLUSIVE: Grandad punished over booze » | Exclusive by Tom Newton Dunn, Political Editor | Monday, October 12, 2015

THE GUARDIAN: Son of Briton facing lashes accuses UK of putting Saudi business concerns first: Simon Andree says in interview that government’s primary responsibility should be to its citizens, as FCO insists it is actively seeking his father Karl’s release » | Damien Gayle | Tuesday, October 13, 2015