A TORTURE victim from Neston has pledged to continue his fight for justice after losing a bid to sue the Saudi officials he claims are responsible.

Les Walker and three other former captives allege they were subjected to physical and psychological violence that made them confess to a series of terrorist attacks.

They have been trying to claim damages since their release three years ago, but the House of Lords has now ruled they cannot continue the case.

Mr Walker, 60, said: 'This is devastating. I feel betrayed by the Government and let down by the British system.

'Tony Blair can say he does not support torture but this decision makes a mockery of that.

'But this is not the end, we will continue this fight.'

Mr Walker, Sandy Mitchell and Bill Sampson were arrested after bombings six years ago in the Saudi capital Riyadh and Khobar, in the east of the country.

It was claimed they were involved in disputes over illegal alcohol smuggling, but they claimed they were tortured into admitting responsibility.

The fourth man, Ron Jones, was seized after being injured in a bomb blast outside a bookshop.

They won the right to sue Saudi Arabia for damages after a Court of Appeal ruling in 2004.

But the Saudi authorities appealed on the grounds that officials are protected by state immunity.

The Law Lords agreed and ruled that foreign officials are protected by the State Immunity Act.

The Prime Minister faced questioning in the Commons over the Law Lords ruling, stressing the Government totally condemned torture.

Mr Blair said: 'We intervened in this particular case in order to ensure that the rules of international law and state immunity are fully and accurately presented and upheld.'

Mr Walker was sentenced to 12 years in Riyadh, but was freed with the other men after King Fahd pardoned them in August 2003.

He languished in jail for two years and claims he was brutally beaten and mentally abused during this time.

The Foreign Office paid to send him to the Parker Institute in Copenhagen, world leader in the diagnosis and treatment of torture, for psychological and physical tests. They found major tissue damage in his feet, which could only have been caused by some form of brutality.

Mr Walker and his three colleagues were backed by Amnesty International, The Redress Trust, Interights and Justice.

The human rights groups said: 'The Lords ignored their right to justice and shielded the perpetrators from legal process. Equally shocking was the Department of Constitutional Affairs' intervention in this case.

'Instead of backing British victims and seeking reparations from the Saudi government as they are entitled to do, they stood alongside the Saudi government to argue that states which torture, as well as officials should be immune from accountability.'