Briton cleared of drug smuggling charges in Peru

For the first year and a half of his detention, Mr Rae had little access to legal advice or representation, but the campaign group Fair Trials International worked on his behalf to make sure that he could have the services of a private lawyer. They later helped him to appeal his conviction, which was overturned last week.

Jago Russell, the chief executive of Fair Trials International, said: “Alan has always maintained his innocence and we are thrilled that the courts have finally agreed. An acquittal of this kind in a drugs case in Peru is extremely rare and we are grateful to the authorities for giving this case the careful attention it deserved. After a horrific ordeal, at last Alan can return home to his family an innocent man.”