Bahraini award to UK envoy shows ‘our diplomats are up for grabs’, says peer

The British ambassador, Alastair Long, receiving the Order of Bahrain from King Hamad bin Isa al-Khalifa. Activists and politicians say this breaches Foreign Office protocol. Photograph: Handout View image in fullscreen The British ambassador, Alastair Long, receiving the Order of Bahrain from King Hamad bin Isa al-Khalifa. Activists and politicians say this breaches Foreign Office protocol. Photograph: Handout Bahraini award to UK envoy shows ‘our diplomats are up for grabs’, says peer Rights activists call UK ambassador ‘morally compromised’ for accepting honour from Bahraini king in apparent breach of Foreign Office rules The British ambassador to Bahrain has been accused of breaching government rules over accepting an award by the Gulf state’s king, a move critics suggest signals diplomats and civil servants are “up for grabs”. This week, the ambassador, Alastair Long , received the Order of Bahrain from King Hamad bin Isa al-Khalifa, in recognition of his diplomatic tenure, which human rights activists and politicians say is in “direct breach” of the Foreign Office’s rules on accepting foreign awards. Under the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office’s policy, heads of UK missions must not accept foreign awards during, on or after leaving posts. Foreign governments must also request permission to grant awards to UK nationals, which a source told the Guardian the Bahraini government had not done. The award is understood to be the fourth to be given to British ambassadors to the Gulf state, following similar presentations to Long’s predecessors: Iain Lindsay, Simon Martin and Roderick Drummond. In a letter to the foreign secretary this week, Lord Scriven said it demonstrated “a recurring pattern wherein the Bahraini government deliberately disregards” British diplomatic protocol. “This sends a clear message: our diplomats and civil servants are up for grabs,” the Liberal Democrat peer’s letter to Yvette Cooper said. “This trend does raise a number of significant issues for the UK government, particularly in light of the worsening human rights position in Bahrain ,” Scriven told the Guardian. “It’s quite clear that the foreign secretary and politicians are not in charge.” The letter also raised concerns around Bahrain’s mass revocation of citizenship for Shia Muslims of Iranian heritage, the targeted arrests of activists and Shia clerics, and the torture and death of Sayed Mohamed Almosawi . The 32-year-old was forcibly disappeared in Bahrain in March, and is said to have died in custody and bore signs of torture, according to Human Rights Watch (HRW). According to the most recent reports from HRW, the Bahraini government continues to suppress free speech and has arbitrarily detained prominent human rights defenders and political leaders. Last year the state granted amnesty to 630 prisoners. View image in fullscreen Lord Ahmad at the UN as a UK minister. He was later accused of breaching transparency rules after taking a paid advisory role