The suspended former ambassador to Uzbekistan has been praised in a Foreign Office report on human rights.

Craig Murray has been suspended and recalled from his post following public criticism of human rights abuses in the country.

The annual government report praised Murray's campaign to highlight the case of a man allegedly tortured to death in 2002.

His mother, Fatima Mukadirova, was subsequently imprisoned, with the report suggesting this was probably "for publicising the case of her son".

"Our ambassador to Tashkent Craig Murray publicly criticised the Uzbek authorities' handling of Mukadirova's case in BBC media interviews," continued the report.

"We believe this played a significant role in bringing the case to the attention of the international community."

It added that "we subsequently welcomed her release... following the reduction of her penalty to a fine".

The praise for a suspended diplomat will embarrass the foreign secretary further.

Jack Straw has already come under fire for failing to support the campaign to improve human rights in the country.

At a press conference to launch the report on Wednesday, he declined to answer comments on the Murray case.

But he said that the Uzbek government "has continued to use the fear of so called Islamic terrorism as a pretext for the repression of opposition groups".

"We remain extremely concerned at reports that prisoners have been tortured to death in custody," he added.

"Until we see real practical improvements in the situation, human rights will remain the primary focus of the UK’s bilateral relations with Uzbekistan."

Straw also insisted the government was doing all it could to promote human rights around the world.

"Human rights is also a growing and important part of our core diplomatic work, both in London and in our posts abroad," he said.