LONDON: British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said China executed British national Akmal Shaikh on Tuesday, a move he condemned "in the strongest terms."

"I condemn the execution of Akmal Shaikh in the strongest terms, and am appalled and disappointed that our persistent requests for clemency have not been granted," Brown said in a statement.

"I am particularly concerned that no mental health assessment was undertaken.

"At this time our thoughts are with Mr Shaikh?s family and friends and I send them our sincere condolences," he said.

The British government and Shaikh's family made last-ditch appeals on Monday to China to show clemency in his case.

Shaikh, a 53-year-old father-of-three from London, suffered from bipolar disorder, according to his supporters.

He was arrested in September 2007 in Urumqi in far western China with four kilograms (about nine pounds) of heroin, but campaigners say a criminal gang exploited his mental illness to dupe him into carrying the drugs.

Shaikh has become the first national from a European Union country to be executed in China in 50 years, according to the London-based charity Reprieve, which had been providing him with legal counsel.