MP's claim Saudi Arabia death row prisoner 'abhorrently tortured' struck from record

A Foreign Office minister’s claim that Saudi Arabia "abhorrently" tortured a death row prisoner has been struck from the parliamentary record under apparent pressure from Riyadh.

David Rutley, who was appointed to the FCDO in October, told parliament last week that "clearly torture was used" in the case of Hussein Abo Al Kheir, 57, who is set to be executed shortly on drugs offences. Mr Rutley described the torture as "abhorrent".

However, in a letter seen exclusively by the Telegraph, Mr Rutley requested an amendment to Hansard four days later, removing the word "abhorrent" and casting doubt on the treatment of Mr Abo Al Kheir.

The parliamentary record now reads: "We have already expressed our concerns, particularly about Mr Al Kheir’s case, in which torture has been alleged. We have raised that issue at the highest levels and will continue to do so, not just in his case but in other cases in which that might be happening as well."

The Telegraph understands Saudi Arabia voiced concerns about the remarks but government sources said that the correction was made because Mr Rutley had spoken inaccurately rather than because of the complaint. 

But activists and British MPs hit out at the "spineless" u-turn which they said raised questions about Riyadh’s influence.

"At the very least, going back on the Minister’s principled declaration looks spineless. At worst, it raises extremely troubling questions about Saudi influence at the highest levels of UK Government," said Maya Foa, director of Reprieve, which is representing Mr Abo Al Kheir.

Former Conservative cabinet minister David Davis, who put forward the urgent question about Mr Abo Al Kheir, said: "A Minister telling Parliament the truth is a good thing, not a mistake.

"The mistake is the Foreign Office’s embarrassing effort to rewrite the record. David Rutley was right in what he said, and the Foreign Office should be focused on helping to stop these executions rather than sparing Saudi’s blushes".

Labour MP Chris Bryant said: "It gravely discredits the UK Government to act like a PR agency for Saudi Arabia’s murderous regime rather than an independent state which stands up for fundamental British values."

When Mr Rutley was approached for comment, the Foreign Office confirmed he had amended his response but refused to comment further.

Typically when ministers ask for corrections in Hansard they explain why a mistake has been made.

Mr Rutley’s letter requesting the change in the parliamentary record offers no reason for the reversal.

Western governments including Britain have been accused of soft-pedalling Saudi Arabia’s human rights abuses as they seek to combat high energy prices caused by the war in Ukraine.

According to his family, Mr Abo Al Kheir was tortured for 12 days following his arrest in 2014. He is alleged to have smuggled some amphetamines across the border from Jordan to Saudi Arabia.

While he has always said that he has no idea how the drugs got into his car, Mr Abo Al Kheir signed a confession after 12 days of detention in which his family say he was suspended by his feet and beaten.

Mr Abo Al Kheir was due for execution in early November, though the date was postponed. A released prisoner told his family this week that he had been hung just off the floor for 12 hours, while awaiting his fate last month.

United Nations legal experts, as well as a cross-party groups of British MPs, have corroborated claims that Mr Abo Al Kheir was tortured.

Earlier this month Mr Abo Al Kheir was moved to his "death cell". His family and the UN believe that his execution - likely a beheading by sword - will be "imminent" now that Saudi Arabia has reversed its two-year moratorium on executing for drug offences.

"People in the prison feel like they are in a chicken farm, one by one they take a chicken and cut its head off, and that's it," his sister Zeinab told The Telegraph. "It’s like these people don’t live in the 21st century, or a civilised nation."

Zeinab said her brother had never been allowed to instruct a lawyer in nine years of incarceration in Saudi Arabia’s Central Tabouk prison.