Reports from Bahrain say the chief of the country's security and intelligence service, Ian Henderson, has been replaced.

Local newspapers said the position had been filled by a member of the ruling family, Sheikh Khalid Bin Muhammad Al Khalifa.

Government sources said Mr Henderson -- a British citizen who's headed the Bahraini security for more than thirty years -- was still working for the interior ministry.

The BBC Arabic Affairs analyst says Mr Henderson is a controversial figure who was accused by international human rights groups of heading an organisation which routinely uses torture to extract confessions from detainees.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service