Envoy in talks over secret flogging

Britain's ambassador met authorities in the Gulf state of

Qatar yesterday to seek an explanation for the flogging in secret of a Briton, Gavin Sherrard-Smith.

Sherrard-Smith, 30, a computer technician whose family is from Surrey, received 50 lashes in the prison where he is serving a six-month sentence for selling alcohol to a Muslim. He denied the offence. The ambassador was joined in his protest by envoys from France, Germany, and Italy.