Saudi King accuses Britain of terror failures

UK, Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah said Britain failed to act on intelligence from his country which may have stopped the London bombings, before arriving here Monday for a controversial state visit.

The king - the first Saudi monarch to make a state visit to Britain in 20 years - accused London and other nations of failing to take terrorism seriously enough.

His three-day visit formally starts Tuesday, but it has already provoked angry protests from some politicians and campaigners over alleged human rights abuses and corruption in Saudi Arabia.

Asked about the terrorist threat in an interview broadcast hours before his arrival, he told the BBC through an interpreter: "I believe most countries are not taking this issue too seriously including, unfortunately, Great Britain. "We have sent information to Great Britain before the terrorist attacks in Britain but unfortunately no action was taken. And it may have been able to maybe avert the tragedy."

Fifty-two innocent people died in July 2005 when four young British Muslims blew themselves up on London's public transport system.

A senior Foreign Office official played down the king's remarks, saying that if Britain had had specific intelligence, it would have acted upon it. Britain's domestic security service MI5 says it had received "no prior warning" and while the Saudis did provide information about a possible attack in Britain, this was "materially different" from the London bombings.

King Abdullah was met by heir-to-the-throne Prince Charles when he arrived at London Heathrow Airport on Monday and will stay at Buckingham Palace, Queen Elizabeth II's official residence in the capital.

He will be formally greeted by the queen on Tuesday before joining her for a state carriage procession.

Later, she will host a state banquet for him at Buckingham Palace where both will make speeches.

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown was to hold talks with King Abdullah on Wednesday, which are likely to focus on counter-terrorism, Iran, the Middle East peace process, Iraq and Lebanon, the Foreign Office official said.

"We have a new king in Saudi Arabia and a new prime minister here, so this is an auspicious moment to mark the strength of the relationship between our two kingdoms," he said on condition of anonymity.

London, Tuesday, AFP.