The UK's close relationship with Saudi Arabia has once again been cast under scrutiny after it emerged that hundreds of Saudi Arabian police officers have received training in Britain.
The College of Policing has provided specialist training to 270 Saudi officers who visited the UK, new figures released under Freedom of Information laws showed.
The Freedom of Information request also disclosed that 26 college employees had been deployed to Saudi Arabia, each on a short-term basis, since December 2012.
The revelations sparked fresh scrutiny of the UK's links with the Middle Eastern state, which has been attacked over its human rights record following beheadings and allegations of torture.
Last year the Government pulled out of a £5.9 million bid to run prison training services in Saudi Arabia.
The data, which was released to the BBC, showed that the College of Policing provided specialist training in the UK to the 270 Saudi officers between December 2012 and October 2015.
Details of the nature of the training were not revealed.
The college, which sets standards for forces in England and Wales, said any training of overseas officers is overseen by the cross-governmental International Policing Assistance Board.
It said: "All training delivered by the College meets the highest international standards and respect for human rights and dignity is interwoven into programmes."
The FOI response said the college had received a total of £2.7 million for training provided to countries in the Middle East and North Africa region, but did not disclose specific details of the income from Saudi Arabia.
Maya Foa, of human rights organisation Reprieve, said the Home Office has "serious questions to answer" over the relationship between British police and Saudi forces.
In a statement, the college added: "Decisions about UK policing assistance overseas must reconcile the difficulties of working with countries whose standards of human rights may be at odds with our own with the opportunity to address national security concerns, reduce harm to individuals, help to protect UK citizens overseas and contribute to reform in those countries."
The Home Office declined to comment.
