The British ambassador to Bahrain, Alastair Long, has been accused of breaching government rules by accepting the Order of Bahrain from King Hamad bin Isa al-Khalifa. Activists and politicians say the award violates the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office's policy on foreign awards, which prohibits heads of UK missions from accepting such honors during or after their tenure without prior permission.
Breach of Protocol
Under the Foreign Office policy, foreign governments must request permission to grant awards to UK nationals. A source told the Guardian that the Bahraini government had not done so. The award is understood to be the fourth given to British ambassadors to Bahrain, following similar presentations to Long's predecessors: Iain Lindsay, Simon Martin, and Roderick Drummond.
In a letter to Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper, Liberal Democrat peer Lord Scriven stated that the award demonstrates '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,' Scriven wrote.
Human Rights Concerns
The letter also raised concerns about Bahrain's human rights record, including mass revocation of citizenship for Shia Muslims of Iranian heritage, targeted arrests of activists and Shia clerics, and the torture and death of Sayed Mohamed Almosawi. The 32-year-old was forcibly disappeared in March and is said to have died in custody with signs of torture, according to Human Rights Watch.
According to recent HRW reports, the Bahraini government continues to suppress free speech and arbitrarily detains human rights defenders and political leaders. Last year, the state granted amnesty to 630 prisoners.
Internal Emails Reveal Advice
Freedom of information requests by human rights activists, shared with the Guardian, reveal emails within the Foreign Office from 2023, when Roderick Drummond was ambassador, advising that the same award should be declined but, if needed, politely accepted 'to avoid embarrassment' and kept 'as a keepsake.' The emails also show that Bahrain had notified the British government of the award beforehand, but not with Drummond's predecessors.
'Who are British ambassadors and diplomats actually working for?' Scriven asked. 'It's now becoming unclear.'
Wider Context
Former UK Middle East minister Tariq Ahmad was accused of breaching transparency rules in 2025 after taking a paid advisory role with a centre linked to Bahrain's government. He was cleared by the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments, but Scriven described the role as 'whitewashing.'
British campaigners have also accused Bahrain of transnational repression on UK soil, targeting political dissidents and exiled human rights defenders.
Sayed Ahmed Alwadaei, a Bahraini human rights activist and advocacy director at the Bahrain Institute for Rights and Democracy, said the UK ambassador was 'morally compromised' for accepting the award. 'No British diplomat should accept an honour from a ruler at a time when infants are being stripped of their citizenship and rendered stateless, and a 32-year-old man has been tortured to death,' Alwadaei said. 'The foreign secretary should take a stand against the dictator's systematic disregard for British rules and diplomatic norms.'
The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office declined to comment on the record.
