Family’s plea to spare grandfather 350 lashes

The daughter of a 74-year-old British grandfather facing 350 lashes in Saudi Arabia has lauded prime minister David Cameron’s decision to appeal to officials to stop the flogging.

Karl Andree, who has battled cancer and suffers from asthma, was arrested in Jeddah in August last year after bottles of home-made wine were discovered in his car by police.

As Cameron raised concerns about the threatened lashing, Number 10 announced the Government will not be proceeding with a bid to sell the Ministry of Justice’s expertise to the prison service in Saudi Arabia.