Gulf countries 'must ease economic ties with UK'

Manama: A controversial Bahraini lawmaker has called for reduced economic and financial cooperation between the Gulf countries and Britain as it is "against the interests" of the region.

"The most effective way to put pressure on Britain is to halt all the assistance that the Gulf countries have pledged to offer to help rescue the global economy in general and the British economy in particular," Jasem Al Saeedi, an independent Salafi MP, has said.

Al Saeedi, who was elected in 2002 and 2006 to the 40-member lower house, has charged that Britain has been working "against the interests of the Gulf nations", a charge that British Ambassador Jamie Bowden vigorously denies.

"The whole world must understand that we are not ready to allow our wealth and [financial] power to be offered to help rescue the world for free. Our contributions should be closely associated with what the others are willing to offer in return," Al Saeedi said.

Earlier this month, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown conducted a Gulf tour to persuade Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the UAE to help rescue stricken economies.