Recent incidents in Bahrain have been projected wrongly by some foreign media which published inaccurate and misleading information, Interior Minister Shaikh Rashid bin Abdulla Al Khalifa said yesterday.

Bahrain had gone through a dangerous phase with the risk of civil clashes, but such a disaster was averted by the wisdom of His Majesty King Hamad who took proper steps at the right time, he said after meeting several British ministers and senior security and intelligence officials in London.

The Interior Minister, who is on an official visit to the UK, held talks with British Minister of State at Foreign and Commonwealth Office Lord David Howell, MI5 director-general Jonathan Evans, Home Office Minister James Brokenshire, Northern Ireland Minister Hugo Swire and Attorney-General Dominic Grieve.

He also met House of Commons Deputy Speaker Nigel Evans, president of the Conservative Party's Middle East Council Baroness Patricia Morris, Shadow Attorney-General and spokesperson for law officers Baroness Patricia Scotland and deputy spokesperson for defence, equality, energy and climate change in Northern Ireland Jeffrey Donaldson.

The Interior Minister reviewed the current situation in Bahrain and said His Majesty's efforts have helped Bahrain emerge from the crisis with minimum losses.

He highlighted the case of the discovery of highly explosive materials during a recent raid and said investigations will continue to arrest the terror plotters.

During talks with Lord Howell, the Minister stressed that the national dialogue was meant to involve all parties and rejected any exclusion or marginalisation.

Agenda

He said all parties should agree on the dialogue agenda to ensure its success and the achievement of general interests. He added that all societies need political growth and should work for the nation's interests similar to the British opposition.

Shaikh Rashid said policemen sustained injuries due to the dangerous acts of protesters, which many other countries would have dealt with using weapons.

He hailed the efforts of the British Ambassador to Bahrain in reinforcing bilateral ties.

Lord Howell said the discovery of a factory making highly explosive materials is a dangerous matter. He said Bahrain had made progress in implementing the recommendations of the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry, and urged all parties to be a part of the democratic process and join a political and comprehensive dialogue without preconditions to achieve long-term stability.

Bilateral relations were reviewed during the Minister's meeting with Mr Jonathan Evans. They discussed co-operation in exchanging information and expertise, and the appointment of a liaison officer from London Police for co-operation and co-ordination.

Mr Brokenshire pledged co-operation with Bahrain in combating terrorism and organised crimes, in addition to training.

The Interior Minister reviewed procedures taken by the ministry in reorganising recruitment and training.

He told Mr Swire that there was no comparison between the situations in Bahrain and Ireland as Bahrain was a small country where there was peaceful co-existence between all segments of society and the differences and conflicts could be resolved through direct dialogue.

Mr Grieve affirmed his willingness to provide all support and co-operation to Bahrain and reviewed legal procedures that should be taken against lawbreakers. The Interior Minister said work was continuing to improve the efficiency and preparedness of police through advanced and intensive training.

Mr Nigel Evans said there was no comparison between the situation in Bahrain and what had happened in some Arab countries, because of the steps taken by His Majesty more than 10 years ago.

During talks with Baroness Scotland, the Minister said the decisions taken by some societies in Bahrain were not taken by them but by foreign groups. He said foreign media played a bad and biased role in dealing with the situation.