Cut ties with ‘bloodstained’ regime – MacShane

The Rotherham MP comments follow a row over a Government-sanctioned visit to Bahrain in December by Prince Edward, the Queen’s youngest son, and his wife, Sophie, Countess of Wessex. It has emerged that the Countess accepted gifts of jewellery and her husband a pen and a watch.

Labour says Mr Hague should not have allowed such friendliness with a “bloodstained” regime.

The Foreign Office agrees it facilitated the visit but says the Royal Family run their own policy on accepting gifts.

Yesterday, Shi-ite Muslims challenged the Sunni-backed government yet again, by staging a banned demonstration in the Bahraini capital. And Mr MacShane published a letter he sent to Mr Hague on Saturday which said: “I am writing to ask that you give the same attention to the repression of human rights in Bahrain that you give to Burma, Syria or Zimbabwe.

“The UK continues to soft-soap and turn a blind eye to the cruelties that take place under the ruling dynastic Khalifa family network. These people have been received at 10 Downing Street and seem to act as if they are under no pressure from Britain as HMG drops all the language and pressure on human rights you rightly apply and use when dealing with other unsavoury regimes.

“We cannot afford to be timid to our allies while being belligerent towards our enemies. Human rights are universal, and should not be beholden to our special political or economic interests. It is in the Bahraini government’s economic interest to uphold human rights if they wish to hold the Formula 1 race and prevent capital flight from Bahrain. Calming sectarian tension through effective reform in Bahrain could have positive knock-on effects throughout the region.

“If we do not take a stand in requiring allies to respect human rights, we risk damaging our own credibility as well as impeding the inevitable march of democratic values across the authoritarian world.”

The Foreign Office view is that the Bahraini government is trying to be reasonable.