John Yates, who is now employed as an advisor to the Bahrain police, has told FIA President Jean Todt that in his opinion the situation in the Gulf state is being overstated.

In a letter to Todt, Yates, according to Reuters, which has seen the letter, makes clear to the FIA President that he is not an apologist for last year's crackdown, admitting that there remain problems in the country.

"The almost nightly skirmishes that take place in certain villages are a potential block on progress and are putting those involved in their policing and innocent members of the public in significant danger," he writes. "However, in spite of how these events may be portrayed through the medium of Youtube and other outlets, their significance should not be overplayed. Along with my family, I feel completely safe. Indeed, safer than I have often felt in London."

Yates, who according to his entry on Wikipedia was born in Bahrain "to a family of doctors", was hired by the Bahrain regime last year to oversee the reform of its police force in the wake of the violent crackdown that brought worldwide condemnation.

Between 2006 and 2011, Yates, who was involved in numerous high profile investigations during the course of his thirty-year career, was Assistant Commissioner in the London Metropolitan Police Service, resigning on 18 July 2011, nine days after expressing "extreme regret" for the failings of a review of the first investigation into phone hacking by employees of the News of the World, a review which he led.