Second Briton killed by car bomb in Saudi Arabia

A British banker was blown up in a car-bomb attack outside his home in a residential compound in Riyadh yesterday, becoming the second British man to be killed in the Saudi Arabian capital in 18 months.

Simon Veness, 35, from Kent, died when an explosion ripped through his four-wheel-drive vehicle at 8.45am local time.

Supporters of five Britons detained in the country after a series of other attacks said the latest attack pointed to their innocence. The five have withdrawn "confessions" to a bombing campaign in which one man, Christopher Rodway, died and others were injured. They said yesterday's attack supported claims that the earlier campaign was conducted by Saudi dissidents.

The Saudi authorities say the earlier bombings were part of a turf war between ex-pat Britons involved in illegal alcohol trading. But the possibility of a dissident terror campaign was given support this week when the Saudi authorities announced they had arrested 13 al-Qa'ida suspects. The government said the suspects had been planning to attack vital installations in the kingdom by using explosives and two surface-to-air SA-7 missiles smuggled into the kingdom and hidden in different places around the country.

After the arrests, the British embassy in Saudi Arabia urged the 30,000 Britons in the country to "maintain sensible security precautions and vigilance".

Mr Veness, who was married with a two-year-old son, died when his vehicle exploded outside a residential compound in the Maathar area of Riyadh. He had been working for four years as a market risk controller at the Bank al-Saudi al-Fransi. According to Lieutenant General Abdullah al-Shahrani, chief of the Riyadh police, the car blew up while it was moving.

The impact of the al-Qa'ida suspects' arrest was not lost on lawyers representing the five Britons, one Belgian and one Canadian held for the earlier bombing campaign. The five Britons – Alexander Mitchell, 44, James Lee, 40, James Cottle, Peter Brandon and Les Walker – have withdrawn confessions thought to have been made under duress. The Canadian, William Sampson, and Belgian, Raf Schyvens, also deny involvement in a campaign linked to alcohol trading.

Many newspapers, including The Independent, found no evidence that a turf war existed, although the defendants were involved in illegally selling or making alcohol in a small way. Last night, Salah Hejailan, the Saudi lawyer representing the men, said the attack should lead to the original investigation being reopened. He said: "Today's bombing may have significant repercussions on the legal position of my clients.

James Sampson, the father of William Sampson, said: "It must now be time for the British and Canadian governments to press harder for the prisoners. My son had a confession forced out of him and he has now been in solitary confinement for 18 months."

Jerry Sheaf, who is 65, and Peter Goldsmith, aged 60, who served short jail sentences in the kingdom for alcohol offences and, in Mr Sheaf's case, a questionable visa violation, have called upon the Government to intervene. However, a source at the Foreign Office said: "We still believe that the best way to help these men is not to make a public fuss."