Akmal Shaikh, 53, from Kentish Town, north London, will be put to death on 29 December after a Chinese court convicted him of heroin smuggling.
In a last-ditch bid to halt the execution ‑ which will either be by firing squad or lethal injection ‑ Gordon Brown is expected to plead directly with the Chinese government for leniency this week, the Guardian understands.
Shaikh's supporters had hoped the possibility that he suffers from a mental illness would help persuade China's supreme court to show leniency. But yesterday it refused the appeal from the father-of-three, plunging Britain and China into a diplomatic row.
In a statement the Foreign Office said it was "deeply concerned" at the news and behind the scenes UK officials were considering what options they had. Brown has already asked for the death sentence to be commuted, only to have his appeal rebuffed by China's supreme court.
Shaikh was convicted in November 2008 of drug smuggling and sentenced to death. He was originally arrested in September 2007 in Urumqi, north-west China. His legal team say they have unearthed evidence that he was suffering from a mental illness, namely a bipolar disorder, which may have caused his strange behaviour...
This guy is obviously 'delusional', he was flying out to meet people who were going to make him a pop star!
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