THE family of an executed British man issued a bitter attack upon China yesterday as his cousins flew home after a failed attempt to plead for his life.

Relatives of Briton Akmal Shaikh today said the UK government’s failure to prevent his execution in China showed Britain’s “powerlessness in the world”.

The execution of British citizen Akmal Shaikh by China sparked a diplomatic war of words between London and Beijing today.

A BRITON who was due to be executed in China this morning was only told of his fate yesterday, his supporters said.