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MP criticises red carpet treatment for Salman bin Hamad al-Khalifa as Bahrain crackdown continues
David Cameron provoked a storm of protest after he welcomed the crown prince of Bahrain to Britain in a high-profile photo call on the steps of 10 Downing Street.
Denis MacShane, Labour's former Europe minister, criticised the prime minister for "rolling out the red carpet".
MacShane spoke out after the prime minister welcomed Sheikh Salman bin Hamad al-Khalifa to Downing Street amid a continuing crackdown against democracy protesters in Bahrain.
Downing Street felt the crown prince had to be given a high-profile welcome after he declined an invitation to the royal wedding last month amid fears that his presence could spark protests.
Bahrain has said that on 1 June it will lift martial law imposed in March after pro-democracy protests resulted in at least 29 deaths. Downing Street said that the prime minister had urged the crown prince to pursue a policy of reform and not repression.
But the timing of the visit was unfortunate for Downing Street. The crown prince arrived in Downing Street shortly after Barack Obama had praised the Arab spring during a speech in which he was highly of Bahrain.
A Downing Street spokesman defended the visit: "The prime minister raised concerns about the situation in Bahrain and stressed the importance of the government moving to a policy of reform rather than repression.
"That all sides should address their grievances through genuine and constructive dialogue.
"The prime minister emphasised his support for the crown prince's long-standing work to achieve political and economic progress in Bahrain, and said that Britain would back efforts to normalise the situation and return Bahrain to a credible long-term process of reform."
The prime minister's spokesman said there was nothing inconsistent about welcoming the crown prince while Britain is involved in military action against the Gaddafi regime over its violent response to protesters. "There are different circumstances and we need to reflect that. Clearly, in all cases we would support reform and dialogue," the spokesman said.
But MacShane criticised the visit. He said: "Bahrain is like something out of Tosca or Fidelio, but this is 2011 and it is not opera taking place but real-life, real-time crushing of the human spirit. We have well-documented reports of torture, including the torture of women doctors, killings and even the Saudis sending tanks to Bahrain to crush the protests in the time-honoured fashion of the Soviets in Prague or Budapest.
"The prime minister is rightly calling for Gaddafi to go to the international criminal court, but the Bahraini despots who are equally guilty of repression, torture and mass arrests are being given tea and a gentle talking-to in Downing Street. It is just sad that David Cameron has such a tin ear to the cries for freedom from the Arab world and is supping with the torturers, not supporting the moves for democracy."
Peter Tatchell, the veteran human rights campaigner, said: "It is a huge error of judgment to fete the Crown Prince of Bahrain at a time when his regime is arresting, jailing, torturing and killing peaceful democracy protesters. Britain should not be conducting business as usual with a tyranny that is guilty of gross human rights abuses."