Britons who claim they were tortured in jails in Saudi Arabia took their fight for damages to the Court of Appeal.

Accountant Ron Jones, from Crawley, says he was tortured into confessing to a terrorist bombing in Riyadh.

Last July a High Court official in London struck out Mr Jones's claim against the Saudi government for £2.5 million on grounds of state immunity.

Earlier this year, Master Whitaker made the same ruling on jurisdiction against a group of other Britons who were imprisoned in Saudi Arabia and forced to confess to a series of terrorist bombings.

Lawyers went to the Court of Appeal yesterday on their behalf to urge the Master of the Rolls, Lord Phillips, sitting with Lord Justice Mance and Lord Justice Neuberger, to overturn the ruling and restore their actions for damages.

Mr Jones was kept in a Saudi detention centre for 67 days in 2001. His writ, which cites the Saudi interior ministry and a ministry official, claims false imprisonment, torture and violations of his human rights. The Saudi government denies the allegations.

Master Whitaker expressed his "greatest sympathy" for Mr Jones but said the law on immunity deprived him and the English courts of jurisdiction over the Saudi government.