Daniela Tejada said she was incredulous at the news that her husband, Matthew Hedges, would not have to serve a life sentence

Matthew Hedges, the British PhD student jailed for life for spying in the United Arab Emirates, has been granted a pardon with immediate effect, the authorities in Abu Dhabi announced today.

Mr Hedges’ release, to mark the UAE’s national day on Sunday, came after a weekend of intensive negotiations between Abu Dhabi and Jeremy Hunt, the foreign secretary.

The news was greeted with jubilation by his family. “I’m just incredulous,” Daniela Tejada, his wife, told The Times through tears.

Ms Tejada: “Everyone is just crying with joy.” BEN STANSALL/AFP/GETTY IMAGES

It was a swift reversal of fortune. The family had only just learnt that Mr Hedges, 31, had been returned to solitary confinement, where he spent five months after being arrested in May.

Ms Tejada, 27, said she had told his parents of the