FOREIGN Secretary Jeremy Hunt has defended the Foreign Office’s efforts to secure the release of a British academic jailed in the United Arab Emirates on spying charges.

Matthew Hedges was freed by by the Gulf state last year after being granted a presidential pardon following a campaign led by his wife, Daniela Tejada, and the intervention of Mr Hunt.

However, he said his treatment – including six months in solitary confinement – had left him dependent on medication and in need of psychiatric help. He has now lodged a formal complaint with the Foreign Office alleging it did not do enough to secure his release and clear his name.

Mr Hunt insisted the Foreign Office intervention in his case had been “very effective”.

However, he said he had appointed someone within the Foreign Office to look independently at whether they had done everything they could to help Mr Hedges.

“The reality is that we worked very, very hard – both me and also our ambassador in the UAE – to get Matthew out and were very proud to do so because it was a clear injustice. We made a very strong intervention at the right moment,” he told the BBC Radio 4 Today programme. “The important thing is we got Matthew out. There was an injustice. We made an intervention, we were prepared to put our relationship with the UAE – an ally of the UK – on the line because we said a British citizen has not been fairly treated and we got him home.”

But Ms Tejeda said the Foreign Office only became involved after intense public lobbying and because her husband was accused of working for the British Government.

“It took them seven months to get Matt released and that took a lot of public pressure for them to intervene on Matt’s behalf,” she told the Today programme.

“They weren’t just intervening on Matt’s behalf. They were intervening on the British Government’s behalf.”

She said that despite the pardon, the conviction against her husband still stood and they were now seeking help from the

Foreign Office to clear his name.

“He is still a falsely convicted spy and that is something that he has to carry with him every day of his life. This is about justice and accountability – something that we haven’t had,” she said.

Mr Hedges said that six months after his release, he was still dealing with the effects of his time in detention.