Marcus Fakana: British teen jailed in Dubai for sex with girl on holiday to launch pardon bid with 'support' from Foreign Secretary David Lammy

Marcus Fakana, now 19, from Tottenham, has prepared a plea to the ruler of the UAE, who is understood to have intervened in cases where tourists have fallen foul of his country's laws in the past. The teen's pardon request is expected to be accompanied by a letter of support from the Foreign Secretary, David Lammy, who has previously been accused of not doing enough to help Fakana.

The young construction apprentice is currently serving a one-year sentence in one of Dubai's most notorious jails. He was arrested in August after he had consensual sex with a 17-year-old from London during a holiday in the UAE city with his parents.

The girl was just one month away from turning 18, but sex with anyone under the age of 18 is an offence in the Gulf State. The girl’s mum found out and reported him to the local police.

He was arrested and expected a suspended sentence for the consensual act. But instead of allowing him to fly home, a judge ordered him to be locked up for a year in the notorious al-Awir prison.

The CEO of Detained in Dubai, a pressure group that is helping Fakana, has now said the British Embassy has prepared a pardon application. CEO Radha Stirling, who is helping Marcus, told The Mirror: "The British Embassy has been in touch with Marcus while in prison on a regular basis and a pardon application has been prepared. Marcus is praying that the ruler of Dubai, Sheikh Mohammed Al Maktoum, will pardon him.

"David Lammy has promised a support letter to accompany the pardon request, but he could certainly do more. Frankly it was a dereliction of duty to remove himself as the foreign secretary only for Marcus' case, citing a conflict of interest since he couldn't act as both MP and foreign secretary. David Lammy shouldn't just be providing a letter of support and wiping his hands of the situation, which is what many have done in the past."

Radha revealed Mr Lammy's fellow Labour MP Bell Ribiero-Addy has also now written a letter calling for Marcus to be released and for Mr Lammy, who is Marcus' MP, to show stronger signs of support. Earlier this month, friends and supporters of Marcus gathered in Westminster to call for the release, with many describing his sentence as an injustice.