Outrage in Saudi Arabia after female British TV presenter becomes the first woman ever to read the news in the country without a veil

A newsreader has caused a stir in Saudi Arabia by shunning traditional Islamic dress to deliver a bulletin 'bare-headed'.

The presenter was broadcasting from the London studio of Al Ekhbariya, a state-owned news channel which featured the Kingdom's first female newsreader when it launched a decade ago.

Women often appear on Saudi TV without wearing headscarves or veils, but the appearance was thought by many to be the first by a newsreader on a government-owned station.

Al Ekhbariya launched in January 2004 and its first bulletin made headlines by featuring the Islamic state's first female newsreader, who wore Western clothes with a hijab headscarf.

The newsreader stopped short of wearing the niqab, the full face veil seen as a requirement in other parts of the country