Sudan to Free Teddy Row Teacher

Gillian Gibbons, the British teacher jailed for allowing her pupils to name a teddy bear Muhammad, has been given a presidential pardon and will be freed today, reports claim.

The breakthrough came after a meeting between two British Muslim peers, Lord Nazir Ahmed and Baroness Sayeeda Warsi, with Sudan's president Omar al-Bashir.

Lord Ahmed said al-Bashir had agreed to pardon the teacher.

Asked whether Gibbons had been pardoned, a presidential adviser told Reuters: "Definitely, yes."

On hearing that Gibbons was to be released, the prime minister, Gordon Brown, said today that "common sense" had prevailed.

Reacting to the news, Khalid al-Mubarak, of the Sudanese embassy in London, said: "Congratulations. I am overjoyed.

"She is a teacher who went to teach our children English and she has helped a great deal and I am very grateful. What has happened was a cultural misunderstanding, a minor one, and I hope she, her family and the British people won't be affected by what has happened.

Gibbons, 54, was jailed for 15 days on Thursday. She was held at an undisclosed location in the capital, Khartoum, for her own safety after angry protesters gathered on Friday, many of which called for her to be executed.

She had been arrested over a classroom exercise in September in which she allowed seven-year-old pupils to name a teddy bear. A school assistant complained after they chose the name Muhammad.

Al-Mubarak played down Friday's protests. He said: "The demonstrations were an argument from the fringe. I hope for the best relationship with Britain in the months ahead."

The British prime minister said in a statement: "I was delighted and relieved to hear the news that Gillian Gibbons is to be freed.

"Common sense has prevailed. She will be released into the care of our embassy in Khartoum after what must have been a difficult ordeal.

"Through the course of Ms Gibbons' detention I was glad to see Muslim groups across the UK express strong support for her case.

"I applaud the particular efforts of Lord Ahmed and Baroness Warsi in securing her freedom. I am also grateful to our officials for all their work behind the scenes."

Inayat Bunglawala, spokesman for the Muslim Council of Britain, said: "Obviously this is wonderful news. Gillian should never have been arrested in the first place, let alone held in jail. She had done nothing wrong.

"It will be wonderful to see her back in the UK. I am sure she will be welcomed by both Muslims and non-Muslims after her quite terrible ordeal at the hands of the Sudanese authorities."

Anas Altikriti, chief executive of the Cordoba Foundation, also welcomed the news. He acted as a special envoy to Iraq in December 2005 as part of efforts to secure the release of western hostages including the peace campaigner Norman Kember.

He said: "Hopefully now this saga will come to a close. It has taken up a significant part of our attention and the headlines in the press.

"The work done by Lord Ahmed and Baroness Warsi, I think, has had a quite significant role in bringing this to a close."