London: The Saudi Arabia-Britain relations hit a new low with the British authorities expelling a Saudi diplomat for allegedly bribing a London police officer.

The British Foreign Office said Ali al-Shamarani, described as an intelligence officer with the Saudi Embassy in London, was expelled over allegations of police bribery.

"We raised the case of a Saudi diplomat with the Saudi Ambassador and we requested that he leave the country," a Foreign Office spokesman said, adding that the diplomat was no longer accredited to the Saudi mission in London.

The diplomat allegedly bribed the police officer to gain confidential information from police computers about people with Middle Eastern connections living in Britain.

Scotland Yard said the police officer, based in Hammresmith and Fulham in West London, was arrested and suspended on July 16.

He was charged with "misconduct in a public office contrary to common law" following an investigation by anti-corruption officers.

Earlier on August 13, British Airways suspended all its flights to Saudi Arabia anticipating terror threats.

The expulsion also comes in wake of a row over the alleged ill-treatment to five Britons recently freed from Saudi jails on bombing charges.

PTI