Matthew Hedges: British academic jailed by UAE speaks of relief as he returns home after presidential pardon

The 31-year-old says it was ‘very surreal’ to be home in his first public comments since being arrested at Dubai airport more than six months ago

Matthew Hedges, the British academic who was jailed in the United Arab Emirates on spying charges, has arrived back in the UK after receiving a presidential pardon.

The 31-year-old said it was “very surreal” to be home in his first public comments since being arrested at Dubai airport more than six months ago.

“I don’t know where to begin with thanking people for securing my release,” he said in a statement. “Thank you so much to the British embassy and the FCO for their efforts in ensuring I arrived safely back home.”

Mr Hedges, a student at Durham University, was arrested while leaving the UAE after conducting research for his PhD thesis. He was charged with spying and held for five months in solitary confinement, before being sentenced to life in prison last week.

The British government denied he was a spy, and his family insisted throughout that he was just a researcher, in the country to examine the impact of the Arab Spring on the UAE.

The case caused a diplomatic row between the UK and the UAE, a major Gulf trading partner. Following diplomatic pressure from the British government, Mr Hedges received a pardon from UAE president Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan.

But Emirati officials have stood by the accusations. In a hastily convened press conference the day after the pardon, UAE government spokesman Jaber al-Lamki said Mr Hedges was “a part-time PhD researcher, a part-time businessman, but he was 100 per cent a full-time secret service operative”. He added that his mission was “to steal the UAE’s sensitive national secrets for his paymasters”.

Foreign secretary Jeremy Hunt, who became deeply involved in efforts to release Mr Hedges, called the pardon “fantastic news”.

“Although we didn’t agree with charges we are grateful to UAE government for resolving issue speedily,” he said.

The Foreign Office has been criticised for the way it handled the case. Speaking after Mr Hedges was handed a life sentence, his wife Daniela Tejada said the government had failed to take a firm stance from the beginning.

“I was under the impression they were putting their interests with the UAE above a British citizen’s rightful freedom and his welfare,” she told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.

During his detention, Mr Hedges was interrogated without a lawyer or consular access. A representative for the family said that his mental and physical health had “seriously deteriorated” during his time in solitary confinement.

Throughout that time, UK officials continued to drum up trade deals with the UAE, which has long been a destination for British investment. Baroness Fairhead, UK minister of state for trade and export promotion, Middle East minister Alistair Burt and Liam Fox, the international trade secretary, all met with UAE officials and spoke of their desire to boost trade with the Gulf country while Mr Hedges was detained.

After Mr Hedges arrived home on Tuesday, Ms Tejada thanked the British embassy in the UAE and the Foreign Office for their “overwhelming support”.

“I am so happy to have my Matt home!” she said in a statement. “No one should ever have to go through what he did and it will take him time to heal and recover. He is very overwhelmed.”

Mr Hedges thanked his wife for her campaign to see him released.

“I could not have done this without Daniela, I hear her face is everywhere! She is so brave and strong, seeing her and my family after this ordeal is the best thing that could have happened. I thank you all once again.”