A tax adviser who was badly tortured in Saudi Arabian jails has lost his right to sue officials from the kingdom.

Accountant Ron Jones, from Crawley, was seized after being injured in a bomb blast outside a bookshop.

His torture - which included being beaten on his hands and feet, being suspended by his arms, being deprived of sleep and being forcibly fed mind-altering drugs - has been independently confirmed.

Three other Britons, Sandy Mitchell, Les Walker and Bill Sampson, were also arrested after a series of terrorist bombings six years ago in the Saudi capital Riyadh and in Khobar in the east of the country.

They were all tortured into admitting responsibility for the blasts. Yesterday, the House of Lords allowed an appeal by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia against a Court of Appeal decision in October 2004, allowing the men to sue for damages.

Five Law Lords agreed that the officials were protected from proceedings brought in this country by the State Immunity Act .

The case, in which the British Government intervened to support the State Immunity Act, is now expected to go to the European Court of Human Rights.

After yesterday's judgment, Mr Jones, who hoped to sue Saudi Arabia for £2 million for violating his human rights, said: "I am really disappointed in the judgment. We have come to the highest court in the land and we have not received justice.

"The case has been looked at from the point of view of the law and not of justice.

"It is now time for the British Government to intervene on our behalf in order to get us justice."

Mr Sampson accused the Government of hypocrisy, saying it was "quite happy to maintain the State Immunity Law denying citizens the right to seek redress against states that torture them."

Speaking outside the House of Lords, Mr Walker said he was "disgusted" with the way the British Government had acted. He said: "It's all down to money and oil and planes. Don't upset the Saudis. That's the Government's view."

Solicitor Tamsin Allen, who represents Mr Mitchell, Mr Sampson and Mr Walker, said: "The Lords have chosen to support the rights of states, including those who torture, over the rights of torture victims.

"Our clients, who were all so severely tortured in a Saudi Arabian prison that they suffered damage to their hearts and permanent debilitating psychiatric damage, have been told that they are not entitled to bring compensation proceedings in the UK against the men who tortured them.

"This blanket ban is a violation of their right to a fair trial and they intend to take the UK to the European Court of Human Rights in the hope and expectation that they will find support there.

The men were released after an al-Qaida attack in May 2003 by nine suicide bombers in Riyadh which disproved official Saudi claims that the attacks were the result of an alcohol turf war among Westerners.