Craven and offensive

THE Government decision to fly flags at half-mast on some official buildings on the death of Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah is offensive.

It is a spineless affront to values we hold dear because the gesture honours a society that lives by, and vigorously promotes, values we abhor.

Saudi Arabia stands accused of spending something around $100bn spreading an extremist ideology — the kind of blind fundamentalism that fuels Isis and Boko Haram and the zealots active in France, Nigeria and Belgium two weeks ago.