British PM condemns execution in China

CHINA brushed aside international appeals yesterday and executed a British drug smuggler who relatives say was mentally unstable and unwittingly lured into crime.

Britain’s prime minister quickly criticised the execution – China’s first of a European citizen in nearly 60 years.

“I condemn the execution of Akmal Shaikh in the strongest terms, and am appalled and disappointed that our persistent requests for clemency have not been granted. I am particularly concerned that no mental health assessment was undertaken,” Prime Minister Gordon Brown said in a statement issued by the Foreign Office.