Megan Stammers: Teacher Jeremy Forrest to Return to UK

Jeremy Forrest and Megan Stammers are still thought to be in France Photo: PA

Teacher Jeremy Forrest who was found in France with missing teenager Megan Stammers will not fight extradition proceedings, his lawyers have said.

Mr Forrest was arrested on suspicion of child abduction on Friday after he was found in Bordeaux with the 15-year-old from Eastbourne, Sussex.

His lawyers said he has agreed to return to the UK as soon as possible.

Megan is expected to fly home later, more than a week after the pair went missing.

Phil Smith, from Tuckers Solicitors, said in a statement: “He [Mr Forrest] has agreed to return to the UK as soon as possible without the need for protracted extradition proceedings.”

The BBC’s Luisa Baldini said Mr Forrest’s cooperation with the authorities meant protracted extraditions could be avoided, but it would still be several days before he returned to the UK.

‘Reunited with family’

She said Mr Forrest was being held at a detention centre in Bordeaux and would appear before a local judge on Tuesday.

Mr Forrest’s lawyers have said he is upset but is being treated well and with some sympathy.

Megan’s parents have been in contact with their daughter by telephone but have remained in the UK to await her return, a spokesman for Sussex Police said.

The spokesman said police would talk to Megan after she had seen her mother Danielle Wilson and stepfather Martin Stammers.

“Megan is likely to return today to be reunited with her family and to speak with police,” he added.

Megan was reported missing by her family after she failed to turn up at Bishop Bell C of E School, in Eastbourne, on 21 September.

It later emerged she and Mr Forrest had caught a ferry from Dover to Calais the day before.

The pair were found in Bordeaux on Friday after a sighting on Thursday.

After they were found, Megan was taken into the care of British Consular staff and a Sussex Police child protection team officer who had joined her in France.

Her family said they were “overjoyed at the outcome”.

Mr Stammers said: “As you can imagine it’s been an absolute emotional rollercoaster.”

He asked that they were left alone to “bond as a family” after Megan’s disappearance.

Source:BBC News