Britain has not offered asylum to a Pakistani Christian woman freed after eight years on death row for blasphemy because of fear it would prompt “unrest” in the UK and attacks on embassies, her supporters claim.

Asia Bibi and her family had appealed for sanctuary in Britain after her conviction was quashed by Pakistan's supreme court.

The acquittal of the 53-year-old Catholic farmworker prompted days of demonstrations by hardline Islamist parties in Pakistan who had campaigned for her to be hanged.

The mother-of-five remains hidden in Pakistan after Imran Khan's government agreed to allow a petition against the court decision, as part of a deal to halt the protests.

A UK campaign group in touch with the family said the British government was working to help Asia Bibi, but had stopped short of offering asylum.