We don't have a judicial system other than Sharia

Saudi Prince Nayef

The three men, who were shown on Saudi television separately, appeared nervous as they told of their roles in the car bombings in the Saudi capital Riyadh in November.

British man Christopher Rodway died and at least four were injured in the explosions.

'I confess'

Human rights groups have criticised the kingdom's judicial system. But the Saudi Interior Minister, Prince Nayef, said Saudi Arabia would not bow to outside pressure in the case.

''We don't have a judicial system other than Sharia,'' the prince told al-Riyadh newspaper.

He told the newspaper that under Saudi law there are ''the rights of the families of the dead man and those injured and then there is the public right, which is up to the government".

There was speculation the blasts were political

Under Saudi law, a death sentence handed down by a court can be commuted if the next of kin of the murder victim agrees to pardon the convicted murder, in which case 'diya', or blood money, is paid.

This happened in the case of the two British nurses, Deborah Parry and Lucille McLauchlan, in 1998.

It is also possible the Saudi authorities might decide the case is a matter of state security. The Saudi Government could them intervene in the ruling.

No date has been set for a trial.

In the Saudi television broadcast, a voice-over in Arabic quoted one man, identified as Alexander Mitchell from Kirkintilloch, near Glasgow, saying: "I confirm and confess that I received orders to carry out the bombing here in Riyadh which took place on 17 November."

Motive unclear

There was no mention of who issued the orders, or the bombers' motive. The Canadian citizen, William Sampson, who was born in Glasgow and the Belgian, Ralph Skevins, were also quoted as admitting their involvement in the bombings.

Two months of bombs

17 Nov: Man killed, woman injured in Riyadh 22 Nov: At least three injured in Riyadh 15 Dec: Man seriously injured in Khobar, Eastern Province 14 Jan: Bomb defused without injury in Riyadh

Mr Mitchell said that he and the two other men were all involved in the second car bombing on 22 November, which injured three Britons and an Irish woman.

The Saudi Interior Ministry says nine others are still under arrest in connection with the blasts, all of them non-Saudis.

Remote control

The men also described how they planted the explosives in the two cars and used remote control devices to detonate them.

And they pointed out the location of the victims' homes and the sites of the blasts on a street map.

Canadian suspect William Sampson gives his confession

Mr Skevins said he was only involved in the second bombing after he had overheard Mr Mitchell and Mr Sampson discussing the first blast.

Both he and Mr Mitchell said they worked at Saudi military hospitals, while Mr Sampson said he worked as a marketing consultant at the Saudi Industrial Development Fund.

Prince Nayef said on television before the apparent confessions were aired that authorities knew who "the source" for the explosives was and would reveal further details at a later stage.

The Saudi authorities have been playing down speculation of a political motive for the bombings, and have suggested that they may be linked with illegal trading in alcohol.

A Saudi dissident based in London, Dr Saad Al-Faqih, says he believes the car bombs were planted by small local groups with a grudge against the West.

British officials have said they are urgently seeking information from the Saudi authorities.

A Foreign Office spokeswoman said Britain had not been warned in advance that Mr Mitchell, who was arrested in December on alcohol-related charges, had admitted to involvement in the bombings.