Keir Starmer issues fresh statement over Brit teen jailed for holiday romance in Dubai

Marcus Fakana, 18, was controversially sentenced to a year in jail by a judge on Wednesday

The Prime Minister is being kept up to date with the case of the British teen sentenced to a year in jail over a holiday romance in Dubai, Downing Street has said.

Marcus Fakana, 18, was left shocked after being handed a 12-month prison sentence on Wednesday for having sex with a girl aged 17 during a family holiday earlier this year. He has since been released on bail after launching a legal appeal and has pleaded with the ruler of Dubai to commute his sentence and allow him to return home.

The Prime Minister’s spokesman said of the case: “The Prime Minister recognises it’s an extremely distressing situation for Marcus and his family. The Foreign Office is in regular contact with his family and his legal team at this difficult time.

“I believe that they’re in discussion with his lawyers. And I believe he and his family are considering options and next steps."

Marcus had expected a suspended sentence for the consensual act and to be allowed to fly home after being stranded in the Gulf city since his arrest in August. But a judge sparked fury by ordering him to be locked up for a year in the notorious al-Awir central prison.

Speaking from Dubai on Thursday, Marcus told the Mirror: “I’ve asked my lawyer to lodge an appeal and hope we can get an expedited hearing date. Every day here is difficult, especially with prison hanging over my head."

He added: "My family and I are devastated and in shock. I never intended to break the law. It didn’t occur to me at the time and for that, I’m sorry.

"I am asking His Highness, Sheikh Mohammed Al Maktoum to please forgive me and pardon me. Let me go home. Please give me my life back."

Having sex with a person under 18 is illegal in the United Arab Emirates. But campaigners believe Marcus has been harshly treated for having a fling with the girl, who is British-Indian.

He is being supported by Detained in Dubai. The group’s Radha Stirling accused the UK government of doing nothing to help him, despite Keir Starmer’s recent visit to the UAE.

She said: “Marcus is shocked beyond belief. He never imagined he would be going to jail for a holiday romance with a girl just months younger. His life is being ruined. A year in prison is an utter disgrace.

“Marcus feels abandoned by the government and Keir Starmer, who just spent the weekend in the UAE. [Foreign Secretary] David Lammy and the Prime Minister have failed Marcus.

"They should be ashamed they have not secured the freedom of a teenage tourist. Had the British government made the efforts, he would not have received the one-year sentence.”

Marcus, of Tottenham, North London, met the girl, another Londoner, while both their families were on holiday in Dubai and struck up a relationship. She kept the affair from her family, but her mum found out about it after seeing pictures and messages on her phone. She reported Marcus to police in Dubai.

Radha claimed the authorities wrongly noted his age as 19 on purpose to make the age gap bigger and get a longer sentence. They also wrote his nationality as Pakistani.

Construction apprentice Marcus previously told how he planned to see the girl again in the UK. He said: “We had a wonderful time together. When she left, I couldn’t wait to see her again. Then, suddenly, police knocked on our hotel door.”

Marcus has been staying in a rented flat while waiting for his sentence hearing. His family have raised £33,000 in a GoFundMe campaign to help pay for his accommodation and legal fees. They said he is only in jail as a result of “someone trying to misuse UAE law against him”.