A British businessman who brought stand-up comedy to Saudi Arabia has been beaten by the country’s religious police while shopping with his wife.

Peter Howarth-Lees and his Saudi-born wife, Abeer al-Fouti, were repeatedly punched and kicked after he had tried to pay a female cashier at a supermarket in Riyadh.

Three members of the Commission for Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice, or Haia, had confronted him, accusing him of breaking the kingdom’s rules by using a female cashier while not part of a family group.

Although Mr Howarth-Lees and the staff explained that he was with his wife, the row continued into the car park of the supermarket, which is in an upmarket neighbourhood of the capital.

Mr Howarth-Lees and Ms al-Fouti were