Sudan Teddy Teacher Lands in Uk After 'ordeal'

Gillian Gibbons, the teacher imprisoned in Sudan for allowing her pupils to name a teddy bear Muhammad, arrived back in Britain today saying her "ordeal" should not put people off traveling to Sudan.

After landing at Heath row at 7am Gibbons said: "It has been an ordeal but I was well treated in prison and everyone was very kind to me. I'm looking forward to seeing my family and friends and to have a good rest.

Despite spending the last nine days in custody she said: "I am very sorry to leave Sudan. I had a fabulous time."

The mother-of-two was sentenced to 15 days in jail for insulting Islam after letting her six and seven-year-old pupils give a class teddy the name of the Islamic prophet.

She was released yesterday after a diplomatic mission by the British muslim peers Lord Ahmed and Baroness Warsi secured a pardon from the Sudanese president, Omar al-Bashir.

Gibbons told reporters: "I wouldn't like to put anyone off going to Sudan. I would like to thank Lord Ahmed and Baroness Warsi and I would like to thank all the people who have worked so hard to secure my release and make my time more bearable."

She left Sudan last night, flying via Dubai to London. She slept for much of the journey, having told reporters: "I just want to relax, I don't want to say any more. I'm too tired."

Her 25-year-old son John, from Waver tree, Liverpool, said before heading for Heath row for the reunion: "Obviously it's a great feeling, we're very pleased, we have been under a lot of pressure."

John and Gibbons' daughter Jessica were at Heath row to greet their mother.

Gibbons told reporters at the airport: "The ambassador and staff at the embassy were fantastic, I couldn't have got through the ordeal without their support."

Referring to the school where she worked, she said: "The support I received there was legendary and I will miss my class and colleagues immensely."

On Friday thousands of protesters, many carrying knives and sticks, took to the streets of Khartoum, Sudan's capital, complaining that Gibbons' sentence was too lenient. Chanting "Shame, shame on the UK", they called for Gibbons' execution, saying "No tolerance, execution" and "Kill her, kill her by firing squad".

That night Gibbons was moved from the Omdurman women's prison near Khartoum to a secret location for her own safety.

During her trial it emerged that it was school office assistant Sara Khawad who complained to the education ministry about the bear, leading to the arrest.