Teacher Jeremy Forrest keen to return to Britain 'to be near Megan Stammers'

The maths teacher who ran away to France with the 15-year-old schoolgirl Megan Stammers would return voluntarily to Britain to be near her, his French lawyer said yesterday.

Jeremy Forrest, 30, is in jail in Bordeaux after police caught up with the pair on Friday after eight days on the run. His French lawyer Daniel Lalanne was quoted as saying: "We have discussed how he feels about being taken back to Britain and he will not contest it. This is primarily because going home will take him back closer to the person he loves. What these two people have been through is a story of intense love and passion."

A spokesman for Mr Forrest's British lawyers confirmed yesterday that he had agreed to return to Britain rather than fight extradition and is expected to fly back tomorrow once legal formalities have been completed. He will be met at the airport by police.

His British lawyer, Phil Smith of Tuckers Solicitors in London, said: "Once my client arrives back in the UK the full picture will in time emerge."

Megan flew back to Britain on Saturday to be reunited with her parents in her home town of Eastbourne in East Sussex.