Air exec fights for Gulf release

A former British Airways executive was today fighting to return to Britain after being held in solitary confinement for nearly a month in the Middle East on suspicion of industrial espionage.

Ian Heywood, 47, from Surrey, was heading for a weekend in Bahrain with colleagues when he was seized by police at Doha airport in the Gulf state of Qatar.

He was taken to an unknown location and held for 25 days. His family were not told of his whereabouts for three weeks. He has now been released on bail but ordered to stay in the country until prosecutors decide whether to charge him.

Mr Heywood's wife and children have flown to the Gulf in the hope they can persuade authorities to drop the matter.