Mum 'begs' ex-husband to return children to UK from Libya Published duration 24 December 2019

image copyright PA Media image caption Angel El Zubaidy (left) and Maya were left with their grandmother in Tripoli

A woman has "begged" her ex-husband to return her children who he took to Libya five years ago.

Tanya Borg has been fighting to get her daughters back since Mohammed El Zubaidy left them with his mother in Tripoli in 2015.

Judges have jailed El Zubaidy, 41, of Wood Green, London, twice for breaching orders to get Angel, 19, and her eight-year-old sister Maya back.

"Their father is in control. He has all the power," Ms Borg said.

El Zubaidy, who was freed in November after completing his latest jail term, has told judges he does not know where his daughters are and cannot get them back to Britain.

Earlier this year Ms Borg, of Pewsey, Wiltshire, also took legal action in Libya after travelling to Tripoli.

image copyright Tanya Borg image caption Tanya Borg has been fighting to get Angel and Maya back home since 2015

She saw her children briefly during her visit but her lawyer said they disappeared after a Libyan judge ordered the grandmother to bring them to a court hearing.

Ms Borg, who was born in Malta and met El Zubaidy two decades ago, said she is heartbroken and not sure what to do next.

"I'm pretty much back to square one," she said.

"Their father is in control. He has all the power. He could get them back. I beg him to get them home."

Lawyer Pam Sanghera said the grandmother has "not been contactable and has left her family home".