UK Government cancels Ministry of Justice contract with the Saudi Arabia prison system
Source: The Independent
The Government has cancelled a contract that would have seen the Ministry of Justice provide prison services to Saudi Arabia, Downing Street has said.
The £5.9m deal, which Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn recently called on David Cameron to scrap, was controversial because of the autocratic kingdom’s weak human rights record.
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The FCO will be keenly aware that previous stands taken against the Saudi Arabian regime have not gone the UK’s way.
High Court documents released in 2008 alleged that an investigation by the Serious Fraud Office into Saudi Arabia was dropped because of threats by the kingdom to stop sharing intelligence on terror plots.
Read more: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/government-cancels-ministry-of-justice-contract-with-saudi-arabia-a6692276.html
I wrote to David Cameron on 25 September demanding that the UK government terminate the Ministry of Justice’s bid to provide services to the Saudi prison system which uses beheadings, lashing and crucifixions. I am pleased David Cameron has been shamed into a u-turn, as I said in the statement I have just released:
“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.”
https://www.facebook.com/Jeremy-Corbyn-330250343871/
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