A British couple detained by the Taliban in Afghanistan for nearly eight months have arrived back in the UK after being released.
Peter Reynolds, 80, and his wife Barbie, 76, who lived in Afghanistan for nearly two decades, landed at Heathrow Airport on a flight from Doha.
They were reunited with their daughter in Qatar on Friday. Their son Jonathan Reynolds told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that he was ecstatic and massively grateful to those who were involved in securing their release.
The Taliban, who detained the couple on 1 February, said the pair had broken Afghan laws and were released after judicial proceedings - but the Islamist group has never disclosed a reason for their detention.
Peter and Barbie Reynolds married in Kabul in 1970 and spent the past 18 years running a charitable training programme that had been approved by local Taliban officials when the armed group reclaimed power in 2021.
There were emotional scenes on Friday as the couple's daughter, Sarah Entwistle, met her parents as they stepped off the plane in Doha.
We are looking forward to returning to Afghanistan if we can. We are Afghan citizens, Barbie told Agence France-Presse at Kabul airport after Qatar-brokered negotiations for their release.
Their son Jonathan echoed those hopes, saying their desire would be to carry on living there and to do the work they were doing.
Jonathan added that their work in training women and children had a positive impact, despite the challenges they faced from the Taliban regime, which has imposed restrictions on women's education and employment.
The couple's release follows months of public lobbying by their family, who described the harrowing conditions of their detention. Jonathan mentioned that they had suffered from severe health issues during their time in custody.
The UK Prime Minister praised Qatar for its role in securing the couple’s release. Following their return to the UK, the couple received medical checks before departing for London.
