The Bookseller reports that historian Antony Beevor is still refusing to attend the Dubai's Emirates Festival of Literature, external because of the UAE's continued insistence on Matthew Hedges' guilt.

He told them: "I've corresponded with the director of the festival and I wish them the best of luck with it. But, considering the way in which the Emerati authorities are still insisting on his guilt, I still find it rather difficult to go. So I'm not going."

The military historian previously spoke about his love of music to BBC Radio Three's Essential Classics:

There is a lot at stake.

The UAE is the UK's largest export market in the Middle East and its fourth largest export market outside the EU.

The UK exported £9.8bn of goods and services in 2016, which marked a 37% increase from 2009.

There are more than 5,000 British companies operating in the UAE, including BP, Shell, Rolls-Royce, BAE Systems, Mott MacDonald, Serco, Standard Chartered, HSBC and John Lewis.

More than 779 commercial agencies and 4,762 British brands have invested in the UAE.

Image source, AFP

It has also been reported that UK arms exports to the UAE rose last year by 94% to £260m,, external a figure that does not take into account bumper sales of cyber-security support.

Moreover, the UAE is not only an important market for the UK, but also a popular tourist destination visited by more than 1.25 million British tourists in 2016.

It is also home to 120,000 British residents, whose livelihoods and way of life will be put at risk if the relationship between the two countries is damaged beyond repair.

Mr Hedges' case has been a real test of nerve for both governments and while the UAE may have issued a pardon, there is no guarantee that MBZ will blink in any future dispute.

Lucy Moody
Journalist

Here's what the papers in north-east England are reporting:

• Sunderland Echo's headline is 'Durham academic jailed for life for spying in UAE arrives home after being pardoned and freed, external'.
• 'I don't know where to begin, external'. The Chronicle discusses Matthew Hedges' first statement since his release from a UAE prison.

• 'I don't know where to begin with thanking people for securing my release, external.' The Northern Echo also shares Matthew Hedges first statement since he was pardoned.

Image source, Northern Echo

The story of Matthew Hedges' pardon on spying charges has made headlines around the world:

• Nigeria's Today says he was among more than 700 people pardoned by President Khalifa bin Zayed al-Nahya, external.
• Swiss newspaper Neue Zürcher Zeitung says the fact that Hedges was freed now is due to growing displeasure in London., external
• The New York Times says the severity of the sentence had been met with outrage in Britain, external

Matthew Hedges is no stranger to the Middle East. He had spent time there when he was younger and had worked in the region for several years.

But on a research trip for his PhD at Durham University in May he was arrested.

As well as his PhD, he describes himself as "an intelligence analyst at a cyber-intelligence firm in the UK" and has been an advisor for consultancy firm Gulf State Analytics since January 2016.

Corporate investigations, due diligence and research also appear in his areas of freelance consultancy expertise.

His research covers subjects such as defence, security, international affairs and military policy in the Middle East.

You can find out more about him here.

Image source, FAMILY HANDOUT/AFP/GETTY IMAGES

UAE-based paper The National, which has strong links to the authorities in the country, has an article claiming Matthew Hedges 'did not overstep the mark by accident'., external

The UAE is clearly not Iran, which continues to detain UK nationals on similar charges including Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe; it is a close and trusted partner.

But in the case of Mr Hedges, the UK has been reminded that the UAE's de facto leader, Abu Dhabi's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan (MBZ), (pictured) is no pushover. He is used to getting his own way.

Image source, 'BANDAR ALGALOUD / SAUDI KINGDOM COUNCIL / HANDOUT

Unlike his counterpart in Saudi Arabia, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS), MBZ is a strategic thinker. He has stayed very close to US President Donald Trump, but has also developed his relationship with both Russia and China.

The UK is in danger of losing its favoured status in the UAE unless it can demonstrate that it is both a useful and reliable ally.

There are deep historical ties between the UK and the families governing the seven emirates, but the nature of the relationship has changed over the years.

The economic power that came with the the arrival of oil money has allowed the UAE's leaders to build new military and economic relationships.

Today, it remains the case that a defining principle of the relationship with the UK is that Britain - along with the US and France - guarantees the UAE's security against external and internal threats.

The pardoning of a British student sentenced to life imprisonment in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) for spying has been welcomed by the UK government. But the balance of power between the countries is changing.

The imprisonment of Matthew Hedges posed a real dilemma for the UK.

It had to decide whether to stand up to the UAE, a country with which it does £15bn of trade, or cave in and risk the perception that it is now the junior partner in the relationship.

Its strong response - and the fact Mr Hedges can now return home - is testament to the UK's diplomatic weight; this time the UAE flinched.

But the UAE's continued insistence that the Durham PhD student is "100% a secret service operative" - a claim Mr Hedges denies - marks a significant shift after a century of UK supremacy in the countries' relationship.

Read more here.

Image source, AFP

The Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt has expressed his delight at the return of Matthew Hedges.

Matthew Hedges' arrival in the UK this morning comes six months after he was arrested at Dubai airport.

He was jailed for life last week for spying but was pardoned on Monday.

He said he was innocent and had been researching the country's security strategy as part of his PhD studies at Durham University.

However, a spokesman for the UAE government said Mr Hedges was "100% a secret service operative".

Image source, DANIELA TEJADA

Here are the key dates in the Matthew Hedges case:

• 5 May 2018: British academic Matthew Hedges is reportedly taken into custody at Dubai airport after travelling to the UAE to interview sources about the country's foreign policy and security strategy
• 10 October: A court in Abu Dhabi hears his case, but adjourns for another hearing on 24 October
• 11 October: His wife, Daniela Tejada, calls on UAE officials to "admit that they've made a mistake" and to release her husband. Ms Tejada says she has not been told what exactly her husband has been accused of, but she does not rule out the prospect of him being accused of spying
• 11 October: Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt personally raises Hedges' case with his UAE counterpart amid concerns over his mental health and well-being
• 15 October: Ms Tejada sees reports that her husband will go on trial for spying and says he is a man of principle with an "impeccable track record"
• 16 October: The Foreign Office says it is "deeply concerned" about Hedges
• 19 October: Hedges is said to be suffering from "significant health issues" after spending more than five months in solitary confinement. In a joint statement, Durham and Exeter Universities say they are "deeply concerned" about his welfare
• 25 October: He denies spying for the UK Government when he appears atthe Federal Court of Appeal in Abu Dhabi. Ms Tejada says the Foreign Office has been lobbying for Hedges' welfare, but her requests to meet the Foreign Secretary have not been granted
• 29 October: Hedges is released on bail. His wife, Ms Tejada, welcomes the development, adding: "I cannot allow myself to get too excited by this information as Matt is not fully free yet."
• 21 November: Hedges is sentenced to life imprisonment in a five-minute hearing at an Abu Dhabi court. Prime Minister Theresa May says she is "deeply disappointed and concerned" about the case, while Mr Hunt urges the UAE toreconsider the sentence
• 22 November: Ms Tejada says she has won assurances that the government is "now standing up for one of its citizens" after a meeting with Mr Hunt. Prior to the meeting, she had condemned the Foreign Office over its handling of the case. -
• 23 November: In a statement at the UAE embassy in London, ambassador SulaimanAlmazroui praises the closeness between the two nations as he says clemency is being considered for the "extremely serious case"
• 25 November: Mr Hunt has "constructive" talks with his UAE counterpart over the fate of Hedges
• 26 November: Hedges is pardoned in the UAE, as Emirati officials show a video of him saying he is a "captain" in MI6.
• 27 November: Matthew Hedges landed at Heathrow Airport at 07:30 and thanked his "brave and strong" wife Daniela Tejada.

A British businessman who spent nearly two years in a Dubai prison following a fraud conviction says that returning home won't be the end of the matter for Matthew Hedges.

David Haigh (pictured), the former managing director of Leeds United, was later acquitted over the charges relating to a tweet.

He said: "It's not an acquittal. He is still a convicted spy.

"So he's going to have all sorts of issues for his life in terms of travel and going forward but also he was six months in solitary confinement, so that's going to have a lasting, I'm sure he saw many horrors.

"In my case I spent six months in hospital when I came back, repairing broken bones and a broken mind. So there's a lot for him to go through."

Emily Unia
BBC reporter

Matthew Hedges was accused of being a spy.

He was arrested in May while trying to leave the UAE - he'd been there researching his PhD into the countries' security strategy.

Last week he was sentenced to life in prison, that's a maximum of 25 years.

He had apparently admitted the charges against him, and yesterday the UAE released a video of his purported confession, although there are a number of questions about how that confession was obtained.

And while he has been pardoned, the charges against him have not been dropped, and the UAE say that they do still believe he is 100% a secret service operative.

The relationship between the UK and the United Arab Emirates has been affected by the Matthew Hedges spying case, a lawyer says.

Rodney Dixon QC, Daniela Tejada's lawyer, said:

People must approach a purported video of Matthew Hedges confessing "with great caution", a lawyer has said.

Footage was shown at a news conference in the UAE yesterday of him apparently confessing to being a "captain" in MI6 - a rank that does not exist in the organisation.

The UAE authorities have refused to release the video to the media.

Rodney Dixon QC, Daniela Tejada's lawyer, said: "We haven't seen this video of the so-called confession.

"We know he didn't have a lawyer at the time, and that he was in a very weak mental state, he was in solitary confinement for many months, and therefore that confession cannot be relied upon.

"The Foreign Secretary has himself said he does not accept the verdict and the sentence, so this has been widely challenged as being untrue and unsafe."

The family of Matthew Hedges "pushed very hard" to secure his release on spying charges, a lawyer has said.

The Durham academic landed in the UK this morning after being pardoned in the UAE.

Rodney Dixon QC, Daniela Tejada's lawyer, said: "(The family) have asked for some privacy once he arrives home.

"It's such amazing news, it's so unpredictable to know what the UAE authorities are going to do from day to day, you simply cannot assume anything.

"But we'd been pushing very hard on behalf of Matthew, through the Foreign Office and through other routes for him to be released, on the basis that it's an unfair conviction and sentence, and we're just so pleased that has paid off."

The wife of freed academic Matthew Hedges says the family "need some time" after the 31-year-old landed back in the UK following his presidential pardon.

Daniela Tejada staunchly defended her husband after he was jailed for life in the UAE on spying charges.

She said:

Image source, Getty Images

The wife of British academic Matthew Hedges Daniela Tejada said she was "so happy to have my Matt home" after he landed at Heathrow this morning.

The Durham University PhD student arrived home the day after he was pardoned after being jailed for spying in the UAE.

His wife campaigned for his release.

She said: "Thank you once again for the overwhelming support we have received, especially from the Embassy in the UAE and the Foreign Office in ensuring that Matt was safely returned home.

"We are overjoyed and exhausted.

"Thank you once again as well to the international community and the international media who were very supportive from the beginning."

Image source, DANIELA TEJADA

British academic Matthew Hedges was welcomed back to the England this morning by his wife Daniela Tejada and members of his family.

He said: "I don't know where to begin with thanking people for securing my release. I have not seen or read much of what has been written over the past few days but Dani tells me the support has been incredible.

"Thank you so much to the British Embassy and the FCO for their efforts in ensuring I arrived safely back home.

"I could not have done this without Daniela, I hear her face is everywhere! She is so brave and strong, seeing her and my family after this ordeal is the best thing that could have happened.

"I thank you all once again, this is very surreal."

Durham academic Matthew Hedges has landed back in England, the day after he received a pardon from the UAE government.

The 31-year-old had denied spying he had been researching his Durham University PhD.

He was jailed for life last week but pardoned as part of the countries' National Day anniversary.

He landed at Heathrow this morning.

Image source, FAMILY HANDOUT/AFP/GETTY IMAGES