A WIRRAL man who claims he was tortured in a Saudi jail has won the right to sue his captors.

Les Walker, from Neston, was held in solitary confinement for more than 13 months after he was arrested with a group of men accused of being involved in a bloody turf war over the country's illicit alcohol trade.

Mr Walker said he was tortured into making a televised confession where he admitted masterminding bomb attacks in the Saudi capital, Riyadh.

The confessions have always been regarded with suspicion and there is evidence to suggest that the attacks were actually carried out by Islamic extremists.

Amid growing concerns about the men's convictions, the 58-year-old engineer was granted royal clemency and released from the jail last year. But the Saudis and the British Government have never recognised his innocence.

Mr Walker claims that throughout their stay in the jail he and the other men were systematically tortured.

Now they have won a Court of Appeal ruling that gives them the legal right to pursue their cases against the people they say tortured them.

The court said that the State of Saudi Arabia could not be held responsible, but that certain named individuals could face claims against them.

Mr Walker said: "It is a giant leap forwards for us. The next thing we need is for the Government to accept that we are innocent.

"We hope that we will be able to take some action against the individuals who were responsible. We have named two of the policemen that tortured us, the prison governor and Prince Naif, who is the Saudi interior minister.

"It is a great relief that this might stop the torture of other people. The ruling is a milestone that means people who torture Britons abroad can and will be pursued - that might make some people think twice."

As well as beatings, Mr Walker said he was subjected to psychological torture that still causes him problems over a year after his release.

He said: "I was in an interrogation centre with 30-40 cells where people were dragged out regularly for torture. You could hear the screams all the time and I still suffer from flashbacks."

"We were all beaten but it was the psychological torture that was most difficult to deal with. I was deprived of sleep and then told things.

"At the time my wife was in the country and they used that against me. They told me they would put her in the cell next to me and that played on my mind. They never said what they would do to her, they just made you imagine, which was awful."

Mr Walker said he would continue fighting until all of the men's names are cleared.

He added: "The Government have never officially recognised that we are innocent although several politicians have behind closed doors. We have been told by the Government that they can't say we are innocent and they can't say that we are guilty. We know we are innocent - but it's not nice having bombing and murder charges against us."