British scientist Matthew Hedge arrived back into the UK on a flight to Heathrow on Tuesday morning after being pardoned in UAE, the Guardian reported.

He told reporters he was grateful to his wife Daniela and his family, who helped resolve the issue of his release

The 31-year-old Hedges studied at the University of Durham in England. He went to the UAE to collect materials for his thesis and was convicted of spying for the British government.

The British was detained in May at the Dubai airport, as he was supposed to return to the UK after a study. He was placed in a solitary confinement cell for five months and interrogated several times without a lawyer or consular representative.

The trial in Abu Dhabi took place last week and lasted five minutes. The student was sentenced to life imprisonment for spying.

Yesterday he was pardoned by the UAE President.