Britain blasted as 'powerless' over China execution row

Relatives of a British man executed in China accused Britain yesterday of being diplomatically powerless due to its economic dependence on the Asian giant, after Beijing ignored London's clemency appeals.

Two cousins of Akmal Shaikh also accused the West of double standards for citing human rights abuses to justify its invasions of countries such as Afghanistan but failing to take the same approach towards Beijing.

Mr Shaikh, a 53-year-old father-of-three whom supporters say was mentally ill, was executed on Tuesday for drug smuggling despite extensive British ministerial lobbying that continued almost up until his death.

But in a letter to the Guardian newspaper, his cousins Amina and Ridwan Shaikh lamented the lack of real British influence in the case.

"This is an example of Britain's powerlessness in the world. Their strategy of being shoulder to shoulder with the US in the 'war on terror' has not given them the status they so desperately desire," they said.

The cousins noted that "one of the justifications we are told for invading countries like Afghanistan is 'human rights violations'."

"If it is accepted by all that there are gross violations taking place in China, why aren't they, too, invaded? This is purely to do with the fact that China is a powerful country economically.

"Britain's economic dependence far outweighs these 'individual cases'."

Mr Shaikh was arrested in September 2007 in Urumqi in far western China with four kilograms of heroin, but campaigners say a criminal gang duped him into carrying the drugs.

He was the first national from a European Union country to be executed in China in 50 years, according to London-based charity Reprieve, which had been providing him with legal counsel.

China's ambassador Fu Ying was hauled into the Foreign Office hours after the execution on Tuesday to be told of Britain's anger, in what was described as a "difficult" meeting.

But in Beijing officials insisted that Mr Shaikh's legal rights had been fully protected, while a foreign ministry spokesman expressed "strong dissatisfaction and opposition to Britain's accusations."

Britain has vast trade and economic ties with China, and has long underlined the need to engage closely with the emerging global powerhouse despite criticism notably of China's human rights record.

But ties have long been complicated, and tensions were highlighted at this month's Copenhagen climate summit where environment minister Ed Miliband said China had led a group of countries that "hijacked" the negotiations.

In a commentary on the Shaikh case The Times said that Britain's "diplomatic failure" was forcing a rethink of strategy towards China.