LONDON (Press Association) -- David Cameron has urged the Crown Prince of Bahrain to embrace “reform rather than repression” in response to pro-democracy protests in the Persian Gulf state, Downing Street said.

British prime minister made the plea during Sheikh Salman bin Hamad al-Khalifa's visit to Number 10 -- an engagement criticized by human rights campaigners after his regime's bloody crackdown against Bahraini demonstrators.
It came as President Barack Obama gave a major speech throwing U.S. weight behind the Arab Spring protests which have been shaking the autocracies of the Middle East.
Downing Street said Cameron, who shook hands with the Crown Prince on the steps of Number 10 on Thursday, “raised concerns” inside about the situation in Bahrain.
Bahrain has been widely condemned for inviting neighboring Saudi Arabia to send in troops to help put down protests against the ruling al-Khalifa dynasty.
The Sheikh's visit to London comes after he declined an invitation to the wedding of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge last month amid fears that protests against his presence might tarnish the event.
Bahrain is due on June 1 to lift the martial law imposed in March following weeks of pro-democracy protests which resulted in the deaths of at least 29 people.
Hundreds of people have been arrested and dozens put on trial in special courts.
A Downing Street spokesman said Cameron and the Crown Prince discussed both Bahrain and the wider Middle East, adding: “The Prime Minister raised concerns about the situation in Bahrain and stressed the importance of the Government moving to a policy of reform rather than repression.
“That all sides should address their grievances through genuine and constructive dialogue.
In a speech at the State Department in Washington last night, Obama made clear that the U.S. stood behind the Arab Spring protesters in the Middle East and North Africa.
He called for a “new chapter in American diplomacy” that offered support for the rights of people demanding freedom.
Welcoming Obama's speech, Foreign Secretary William Hague said the UK would stand alongside the U.S. and continue to confront governments that use violence to quell demonstrations.
He said the President had set out the importance of a response to the Arab Spring that matched “the aspirations of people across the region”.
“The UK will stand alongside the U.S. in supporting those in the region who demand more open, transparent government and genuine political and economic participation,” he said.
“We have already begun work on this through our new Arab Partnership Initiative.
“At the same time, we will continue to confront those who attempt to use violence to repress peaceful protest.”
The Bahraini Crown Prince's visit to Number 10 was met with a wave of opposition.
Ahead of the meeting, human rights campaigner Peter Tatchell said: “It is a huge error of judgment to fete the Crown Prince of Bahrain at a time when his regime is arresting, jailing, torturing and killing peaceful democracy protesters.
“Britain should not be conducting business as usual with a tyranny that is guilty of gross human rights abuses.”
Former foreign minister Denis MacShane also said Cameron should not be “rolling out the red carpet for Bahrain's torturer-in-chief at Downing Street”.
Photo: A man injured during clashes in Manama is treated at the city's Salmaniya hospital. -