British nurses Deborah Parry and Lucille McLauchlan have agreed to a £750,000 "blood money" deal with the family of murder victim Yvonne Gilford, according to reports last night.
A letter from the dead woman's brother's solicitor in Australia to his counterpart representing the two women there states that Mr Frank Gilford had "executed the deed", agreeing settlement over the Saudi Arabian murder.
Letters from the nurses to the British High Commissioner in Australia say, they had no choice but to agree to the deal after both were faced with the prospect of public beheading over the killing of Ms Gilford.
In her letter to Sir Roger, Parry said she was "opposed to signing this settlement document, as I am totally innocent, and it is abhorrent to me to give so much money to someone in connection with a crime that I did not commit. But in the circumstances, I have no choice but to sign, because the threat of the death penalty is too much for me to continue to bear."
Parry is recovering in a Saudi jail after collapsing and being taken to hospital when she heard a radio report that she had been sentenced to death for the murder of her Australian colleague.
In McLauchlan's letter to Sir Roger, she said: "Although I am signing this document, I do so with great reluctance, and I sincerely hope that my signature will not be misinterpreted by the Saudi Arabian authorities and others as in any way being an admission of guilt. I have no choice but to settle privately with Mr Gilford for money and however distasteful, I am under enormous pressure to do so."
The London Independent today says a fourth letter from the British ambassador in Saudi, Mr Andrew Green, to the nurses' lawyer, Mr Salah Al-Hejailan, said: "The practical effect [of the Deed of Settlement], as I understand it, is that the two nurses no longer face the death penalty."
The London Times has said former defence minister Mr Jonathan Aitken had agreed to act as an intermediary between the parties.
Initial reports suggesting Parry had also been found guilty at the same court hearing earlier this week and would be publicly beheaded have been found to be untrue, but the nurse's relatives and the Foreign Office have still not been able to establish the exact situation.
Saudi diplomats have warned Britain not to meddle and the Saudi ambassador in London has accused critics of demeaning his country's justice system.