Bahrain and the UK: 2014 controversies

• The UK’s political and security relationship with Bahrain is disputed even though the protests that began in 2011 are subsiding.

• The British government says that its arms sales to Bahrain are consistent with its export licensing policy, which bans the export of items that might be used for internal repression.

• New naval base facilities in Bahrain for use by the Royal Navy were announced in December 2014.

• Visits to the UK by Prince Nasser bin Hamad Al Khalifa, a member of the Bahraini royal family who has been accused of torture, continue to be controversial.