A woman who was abducted by her father at the age of four and taken to Libya has thanked the UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham for his work to bring her back home.
Nadia Fawzi spent two years away from her mother in Greater Manchester after being snatched by her father, Fawzi Abuarghub, in 2007. He said he was taking her to a party near her home but instead drove to Manchester Airport, where he bought tickets for the pair to Tripoli.
At the Labour Party conference in Liverpool on Tuesday, Ms Fawzi took to the stage before Mr Burnham’s first speech to the party faithful as Prime Minister. She said she would not be here were it not for Mr Burnham, who she said had been instrumental in helping to bring her back to the UK. He is someone “who gets things done”, she told the conference.
After her daughter’s abduction, Nadia’s mother, Sarah Taylor, moved to Libya to try to regain custody. Her ex-husband had ignored court orders to return her child. She won full custody in 2008, but it took another year before she was reunited with her daughter.
Mr Burnham, who at the time was her local MP, had been a "tower of strength", she said at the time. Mr Burnham also travelled to Libya to put Ms Taylor’s case to the authorities.
She was also backed by Gordon Brown, who was prime minister at the time. He raised the issue with Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi at a G8 summit, who said the “child needs her mother”.
When they were eventually reunited, Mr Burnham said: “We have waited a long time for this moment, and it has been a very hard road for Sarah. She has shown extraordinary courage, dignity and patience and has lived through any parent's worst nightmare.” He said he had nothing but admiration for the way Ms Taylor had fought her case.
