Britain is doing everything in its power to free Matthew Hedges, a British academic jailed for life in the UAE on spying charges, his wife said on Thursday after meeting the foreign secretary, Jeremy Hunt.

Daniela Tejada told reporters Hunt had assured her that his team was working overtime to secure the release of her husband. Her statement came in contrast to her earlier criticism of the Foreign Office, which she said was 'putting their interests with the UAE above a British citizen’s right to freedom and a fair trial'